Two types of appliances help rack up your electricity bill.
The first are appliances that use a lot of power while they're going, but don't run all the time. Electric heaters, dishwashers and clothes dryers fall into this category.
You can make savings by using these appliances only when you really need to - like waiting until the dishwasher is full before running it, and drying clothes on a washing line whenever possible.
The second group is less obvious. We're talking fridges, freezers, cupboard heaters, microwaves, towel rails, TV set-top boxes, DVD players and other appliances left on continuously. They often use little power individually - but when several are left on all the time, the results hurt when the power bill comes in.
Savings with this group can be made by being vigilant. Often a simple timer can reduce overall power consumption by cycling appliances on and off. And you can switch off devices left on standby when they're not being used.
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