Appliance Cost Gap Report

When it comes to managing your day-to-day, there’s some appliances that most people can’t avoid using. It’s easy to forget that every time you run your dishwasher or turn on the television, it’s all adding to your electricity bill. And depending on the energy rating of your appliances, you could be paying far more than you need.

The energy comparison experts at Compare the Market used the Energy Rating appliance calculator ¹ to create an average yearly electricity cost when using appliances. They compared the highest Energy Rating with the lowest Energy Rating, to create an average appliance cost gap.

Which appliances could have the most savings?

When buying a new appliance, it can be tempting to lean towards the one that’s cheaper upfront, even if they’re less energy efficient.

Pool pumps have the biggest cost gap at $503.39 per year when comparing the highest energy rating ($674.55) versus the lowest energy rating ($171.17) options available.

The most energy efficient washing machines cost only $71.17 per year on average, compared to $433.66 for those with the lowest energy rating, creating a cost gap of $361.39 per year (assuming it’s run seven times a week).

Combined fridge/freezers have the next biggest appliance cost gap at $143.98, with the national average for the lowest rated appliances costing $211.86 per year, and the highest costing $67.88.

The cost gap for a clothes dryer run only once a week is $111.60 a year, so for Australians who use this appliance more frequently, choosing a highly rated dryer could save you more than you expect.

For Australians using their television for three hours a day, they could save an average of $118.39 a year from switching from the least to the most energy efficient television appliance.

Dishwashers use the least energy, with the worst-rated appliances for energy efficiency costing an average $78.08, and best-rated $27.39, creating a cost gap of $50.69.

What states could save the most?

South Australia historically pays the most for their electricity in Australia, meaning they have the highest savings potential. From swapping all of the appliances in the study from the lowest energy rating to the highest energy rating, South Australians could be saving up to $1,745.65 on average.

New South Wales comes in close behind, where you could pay as little as $525.35 a year on electricity (not counting electricity use outside of the appliances in the study) when using the most energy efficient appliances, compared to $2,213.10 a year with the lowest rated appliances. This creates an average appliance cost gap of $1,687.75 per year.

For those living in the ACT, the appliance cost gap sits at an average $1,515.18. Even just switching from the most energy efficient to the least energy efficient washing machine, could save you an average $586.78 per year.

Queensland came in fourth, with a cost gap of $1,276.97. Meanwhile, Tasmania’s energy-rating cost difference wasn’t far behind at $1,110.98. Western Australia could still save a respectable $1,020.94 on average per year from switching their appliances, which could be a way to save on their electricity bills even if they aren’t able to switch electricity providers.

Victoria already has some of the cheapest electricity tariffs in Australia, so it’s surprise that they had one of the smallest cost gaps of $981.74, with highly rated appliances costing an average of $1,287.07 per year, and the lowest rated costing only $305.33.

Lastly, the Northern Territory, a regulated state, has an appliance cost gap of $972.26.