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You cannot escape the sky-high prices we are struggling with today. Almost everything, from your energy bill to that starter home, costs more today than it did a year ago. To survive this era of inflation, all you need to do is save where you can, and upgrading some of your outdated, time- and energy-consuming home gadgets is a big step in the right direction.
It probably comes as no surprise that it’s the best air fryers that dominate many of our energy-saving conversations. Even the local hairdressers and bakers have shared their praise of these time-saving kitchen beasts. We’ll also keep an eye out for offers on other appliances, such as dehumidifiers and heated clothes dryers, that could save your wallet in the long run.
When it comes to building a smart home, there are many ways to make your home more efficient. The best smart locks can alert you if a door is ajar, allowing heat to escape; and the best smart thermostats turn on the central heating where and when you want it.
Earlier this month, money-saving expert Martin Lewis unveiled a simple equation that could help you lower your winter energy bills in the UK, something the rest of the world can also take advantage of. The math involves finding an item’s wattage, then working out how many kilowatts or fraction of a kilowatt it uses, then multiplying that by the cost of kW per hour. But since we can’t do all of these calculations when we need to, it might be easier to choose a device or smart home gadget that you know will save you money in the long run.
We’ve already done the Lewis calculations, so you don’t have to. Below we have collected some of the most important appliances and smart home gadgets that can help you save money on your energy bill.
The must-have home appliances and smart gadgets for 2023
There’s a lot of choice, but if you’re careful about where you invest your money, you’ll start to see utility bills come down.
Air fryers
Airfryers are plentiful these days, in all shapes and sizes, but the Instant Vortex Plus 6-in-1 Airfryer with ClearCook & OdorErase is the best you can get. We especially like the window, which allows us to keep an eye on food while it’s cooking, as well as the odor-reducing filter – although the smell of food wafting through the air isn’t always a bad thing.
Air fryers can save you money by cooking food much faster than a conventional oven. You save time preparing food, but you also save time on energy consumed. We calculated the energy consumption of a hot air fryer in our article ‘Do Airfryers use a lot of electricity?’ In the UK, an air fryer with a 1700W basket used for an average of about 30 minutes a day costs about £0.56p a day, £3.98 a week or £17.08 a month, which is a fraction of what it would cost to use a stove for that same length of time.
Airfryers also offer a healthier method of preparing food as they require less oil/fat. No one ditches their conventional oven for the air fryer, but technically the latter doesn’t take up that much space.
Smart thermostats
We’re showing tado° in this little roundup because we’ve heard so many good things about it, and because it’s relatively affordable right from the start.
Research has shown that tado° smart thermostats can save users an average of 22% on their heating bill over the course of a year.
These thermostats are user-friendly and have a sleek and simple design. They can be used alone or with additional radiator valves for zonal control. The tado° also works with Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s HomeKit, so you’re not limited to one smart system. There are, of course, other smart thermostats available, all of which will save you money on your heating bill, albeit in slightly different ways. Our handy widget (below) shows some of the best deals available right now.
Dehumidifiers
Dehumidifiers have been around for a while, but we probably think of them most as a tool for drying out damp plaster after a DIY project. Most homes have one of these appliances, whether it’s in the house, utility room, or garage, but chances are they’re underused. After all, these gadgets have so many other incredible uses for the home.
Money-saving expert Lewis recently shared that drying your clothes with a 200W dehumidifier – rather than a large upright dryer – can cost you as little as 7p an hour (UK); 200w is one fifth of a kw (1,000w) and one fifth of 34p is about 7p. Admittedly, dehumidifiers aren’t cheap, with some costing as much as £400, but if you have a lot of laundry days in the week and rely on the tumble dryer to get bedding and garments dry, the dehumidifier could be a smart investment to make. This Insignia dehumidifier is capable of extracting moisture from a 200m² room, so you’re not limited by the room it’s in – you have a standard drying rack (opens in new tab) to hang the laundry.
It is worth noting that dehumidifiers not only remove moisture from the air, but also remove some heat while also purifying the air, effectively dehydrating you while warming up a room in your home and breathing in purified air. You just can’t beat the versatility of a good dehumidifier!
Smart locks
You may be wondering how smart locks can save you money, but we think outside the box. With the ability to essentially control your front door with an app, you have one less thing to remember to carry (your keys) while saving some money.
One of the things you can do with the August Smart Lock Pro is set up ‘smart alerts’, which let you know when the door is locked or unlocked, when the door is ajar, when the door locks or unlocks automatically , and so on. On. In other words, it always keeps track of the status of your lock, which is especially useful for many of us who can’t quite remember whether we locked the door or not. Now you don’t have to waste your worry on this question, or time and fuel to get home to check. You’re also not letting any heat or air conditioning escape if you happen to have a door left wide open.
The August Smart Lock Pro is not the only lock that can do this. In the UK we (also) have the Yale Conexis L2 (opens in new tab), as an alternative. It’s an expense to upgrade to a smart lock, but it can be a wise – and safe – investment.
Heated drying rack
Heated airers are all the rage in 2022 and we expect this trend to continue well into 2023. In the UK we saw the Dry:Soon Deluxe 3-Tier Heated Airer (opens in new tab) sold out at the start of the fall season and only available again around Black Friday.
Due to its popularity, there were no discounts on this drying rack, but the energy savings are what count: this drying rack claims to have running costs of just 10p per hour (based on electricity costs of 34p per kw/h). It can hold up to 15kg of laundry in 21m of drying space, and it’ll have all your laundry dry in a matter of hours, so you might end up spending 40p instead of £2-3 with the tumble dryer.
Why are they so good? They dry your laundry much faster than the non-electrified dryers, and they are miles cheaper than the tumble dryer. If you’re not in the UK, our handy widget (below) will show you some of the best deals and availability.
You can save a lot of money by making some simple appliance upgrades in your home. Besides boiling only the amount of water you need in the kettle (top tip), you can also save money by investing in products that use less time and energy. I think most of us will welcome a more affordable 2023 with open arms.