With electricity bills still a major concern for British households — and wholesale prices rising further following the Iran conflict — one of the simplest things you can do right now costs nothing and requires no new technology. It's just about when you run your appliances. Here's everything you need to know.
Electricity is typically cheaper at night because demand is lower across the country. The majority of people turn off their lights, devices like TVs and games consoles, and appliances like washing machines and dishwashers, then go to sleep. Most commercial and industrial work also ceases, which causes another massive reduction in electricity consumption. When demand falls, the price drops — and electricity is no different.
The flip side is also true. Peak demand, and often the highest prices, tends to hit between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays — exactly the time most people arrive home from work and start cooking, washing, and heating.
If you're on a standard flat-rate tariff, this price difference is invisible to you. But if you're on a time-of-use tariff — or thinking of switching to one — the gap between peak and off-peak rates can be significant. A time-of-use tariff will typically charge something like 17p per kWh during off-peak hours (midnight to 6am) versus 34p per kWh during peak hours (5pm to 8pm). That's double the price for the exact same electricity.
Electricity is at its cheapest during the night — specifically between 12am and 6am, when the UK's electricity usage is at its lowest.
Most UK energy suppliers offer off-peak electricity late at night when national demand is lowest. Typical off-peak windows often fall between 11pm and 6am, or midnight to 7am, particularly on Economy 7 tariffs.
There are also newer, more dynamic options. Smart meters bring modern, agile tariffs where prices change daily as providers track wholesale prices every half hour. A windy Tuesday afternoon could drop your electricity price heavily. Sometimes the price even goes negative — meaning you actually get paid to use power.
One thing to note: not all electricity plans include off-peak pricing. Many standard tariffs charge a single flat rate throughout the day and night, meaning households only benefit from cheaper electricity if they are on time-of-use tariffs such as Economy 7, Economy 10, EV tariffs, or dynamic smart tariffs.
Before you can work out how much shifting your usage saves, it helps to know what your appliances cost in the first place. Appliances that cool or heat water or air tend to be the most expensive to run. Which? Here are the main offenders, based on current UK electricity rates:
Tumble dryer — The average condenser tumble dryer uses roughly 5.1 kWh to run a cotton cycle, costing around £1.41 per cycle at current rates. A heat pump tumble dryer, by contrast, uses roughly 1.9 kWh for the same load, costing around 53p. In The Wash Condenser tumble dryers cost around £130 a year to run on average, while heat pump dryers cost around £51. Which?
Washing machine — Washing machines use an average of 0.46 kWh per cycle, costing around 13p per wash at current rates. Running one 220 times a year costs approximately £28. In The Wash Note that washing at 30°C instead of 40°C can save as much as 40% electricity per cycle. In The Wash
Dishwasher — The most expensive dishwasher models cost nearly £94 a year to run, while the most efficient cost around £40. Which?
EV charging — Electric vehicles are one of the biggest opportunities for off-peak savings. Customers who schedule EV charging during off-peak times can save more than £700 per year. Jackery United Kingdom
Standby devices — Research by British Gas found that Brits could save an average of £147 per household per year by switching off "vampire devices" that continue to drain power when left on standby. British Gas
Washing machine — Run major appliances like washing machines during your off-peak hours. If they have delay timers, set them so cycles run automatically and finish within the cheaper window. Most modern machines have a delay start function built in — you just load it in the evening and set it to start at midnight.
Tumble dryer — If you're on a cheaper off-peak tariff, take advantage of your tumble dryer's delay start feature and let it run overnight. As a bonus, you'll have warm clothes to slip on in the morning.
Dishwasher — Same principle. Load it after dinner, set the delay timer, and let it run after 11pm. Most modern dishwashers have this feature as standard.
EV charging — If you own an electric vehicle, charging it overnight during off-peak hours can lead to substantial savings. Using a smart charger helps automate this process so your EV only charges when electricity is cheapest.
Hot water and storage heaters — If you have an electric hot water cylinder or storage heaters, set them to heat overnight. The stored heat lasts through the day without any extra electricity cost.
Cooking — This one's harder to shift, since dinner tends to happen at peak time. Although it can be difficult to move dinner out of peak hours, you could cook a meal beforehand and heat it up in the microwave, which uses significantly less electricity than the oven.
What to avoid between 4pm and 7pm — You can save money in peak hours by not using appliances like your oven, dishwasher, and washing machine, not charging your devices, and switching off as many lights as possible.
The honest answer is: it depends on your tariff, your usage, and how much you're willing to shift. But the numbers add up faster than most people expect.
If you currently pay a flat rate and move to a time-of-use tariff, the half-price difference between peak and off-peak rates means every load of laundry, every dishwasher cycle, and every overnight EV charge costs you roughly half as much. For a household that runs a washing machine four times a week, a dishwasher daily, and charges an EV, the annual savings can comfortably exceed several hundred pounds — and potentially much more.
After a week or two of using a time-of-use tariff, you should get into a rhythm of avoiding the most expensive periods — enabling you to save hundreds of pounds per year. Sunsave
Shifting your usage to off-peak hours is the lowest-effort, zero-cost energy saving strategy available to most British households. It doesn't require any lifestyle sacrifice — just a bit of programming on appliances you already own, and potentially a tariff switch that takes ten minutes.
In the current environment, with wholesale prices elevated and bills likely to rise again from July, every pound saved matters. And the households best positioned to weather future price shocks are those who have already reduced their dependence on peak-rate electricity — whether through smart scheduling, home batteries, solar panels, or all three.
At PowerBase.Energy, helping you understand and act on exactly these opportunities is what we're here for. Start small — programme your washing machine tonight — and build from there.
Interested in home battery storage to take your off-peak savings further? Get in touch with the PowerBase .Energy team to find out what's right for your home.