Why a handful of appliances own your bill
Most homes spend the bulk of their power on a few big jobs: keeping the house warm or cool, heating water, and running the fridge around the clock. The Australian Government's YourHome guide puts heating, cooling and hot water at the top of household energy use, and once you turn energy into dollars the pattern holds. The long tail (lights, chargers, the modem) is real money over a year, but fixing it barely moves the bill. Fix the big items and the rest looks after itself.
What it actually costs
Typical annual running cost per appliance, on the current NSW reference rate (~32.4¢/kWh). Your state and habits shift these, so each row links to the calculator that works out your own figure.
| Option | What it includes | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Heating & cooling | Reverse-cycle aircon run hard is about $1.34/hr; a whole summer near $312, winter often more. Aircon / heater | $600–$1,500+/yr |
| Hot water | Usually the second-biggest line; an old electric tank is the pricey version. Hot water calculator | $400–$900/yr |
| Fridge (and the beer fridge) | Runs 24/7, so a 2006 second fridge quietly costs a packet. Fridge calculator | $88–$250/yr |
| Pool pump | Often the single biggest appliance in pool homes. Pool pump calculator | $300–$900/yr |
| EV charging at home | About $3.80/100 km, roughly a third of petrol. EV charging calculator | $400–$700/yr |
| Laundry | The dryer is the culprit (~$1.10/load), not the washer. Dryer calculator | $150–$350/yr |
| TV & standby | A big TV is cents an hour, but whole-home standby adds up. TV calculator | $100–$200/yr |
Figures from EcoGuide's registry-backed calculators; ranges reflect how hard the appliance is used. A pool or an EV reshuffles the top of the list.
Why the “average” figures online are usually wrong for you
Two things decide what an appliance costs: your state's current rate, and how many hours it runs. Rate sets the price per hour; hours set the total. Most calculators quietly use a national average tariff from a few years ago, so their “45 cents an hour” might be your 60, or your 25. That's why every figure above comes from your state's current regulated reference rate, not a guess.
What to actually do about it
Don't chase the long tail. Fix the big items: run heating and cooling in the room you're in rather than the whole house; if your hot water tank is old and electric, a heat pump or an off-peak timer is where the saving sits; and be suspicious of any fridge older than about ten years, especially a second one in the garage. Two of these show up as their own guides: what standby power quietly costs you, and whether solar still saves money in 2026. Then work out your own numbers rather than trusting an average: pick the appliance that's biggest in your home and run it through the calculator.
Common questions
What is the single biggest electricity user in most homes?
Heating and cooling, followed by hot water. Together they're usually around half to two-thirds of the bill, which is why they're the first thing to fix.
Does turning appliances off at the wall actually save money?
A bit. Whole-home standby can be $100 to $200 a year, but it's small next to fixing heating, hot water and the fridge first.
How do I know my real cost instead of an average?
Use a calculator that loads your state's current rate and your actual hours. That's the only way the number matches your bill, which is what every EcoGuide calculator does.
Sources
Household energy breakdown: YourHome, Appliances (Australian Government). Electricity rates: AER Default Market Offer and each state's regulated reference tariff, current for 2026–27. Appliance running costs: EcoGuide's own calculators, built on the energyrating.gov.au registration database (July 2026 snapshot).