REVEALED: This one appliance is silently driving up your electricity bill

Following Ireland's first cold snap of 2025, many households are now faced with higher energy bills, the last thing anyone wants straight after Christmas when family gatherings, extra light fixtures and festive cooking did little to help rising energy bills.

As part of Budget 2025 and to ease the burden of these costs, the Government have rolled out €250 in energy credits to every Irish household with sum credited in two instalments of €125 each with one issued already and the other to come this month.

While this relief may be widely welcomed, it is unlikely to have the impact many would need it to as the cost of living crisis remains ongoing. As a result, many people are searching for ways to cut their energy consumption and lower their bills.

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Many homes are not aware of how much they are truly spending through the use of household appliances. Research conducted by Energia has revealed the appliances that rack up the highest electricity bills in the country.

While the tumble dryer often finds itself being the top suspect for high energy costs, the research found that in terms of cost per hour, the dryer only ranks third on the list.

Energia's team of experts looked at the electricity usage of a variety of household items and found the cost per hour to operate each of the most common appliances people have. 

The research found that while ovens, which are also considered energy drains, fall even lower than you might expect. The findings show the least energy-efficient household appliances include the power shower, followed by the immersion heater and then the tumble dryer.

A power shower will set you back €3.33 per hour which is almost double the cost of using an immersion heater at €1.67 per hour and over twice the price of using a tumble dryer at €1.30 per hour.

Meanwhile, considerably cheaper appliances include the 42-inch LCD TV, at just €0.04 per hour and the average washing machine costs €0.43 per hour, while a dishwasher costs €0.65. Using a plug-in lawn mower for an hour costs €0.56.