New fridge technology has definitely improved energy efficiency meaning new fridge freezers cost, often, significantly less to run. You could save £50 a year running a new fridge freezer compared to a similar model that is 10 years older.

The eco-cycle typically uses about half the water of a 40°cotton cycle and a third of the energy. Using this button could save you more than £70 a year in running costs.

You might not find one if it’s relatively new because the load is now measured using sensors. When the machine is half loaded the energy consumption is automatically decreased, sometimes by as much as 60%, and so is the water consumption.

A recent study has shown that washing 15 place settings in a dishwasher would use only 15 litres of heated water, while washing the same amount by hand would use 126 litres– that’s a saving of 18p every time you use the dishwasher.

No, it uses much less energy than an oven. It costs 55p in electricity to cook a baked potato in an oven but only 3p in the microwave – just a fraction of the cost.

Gas hobs are the cheapest to run while gas is cheaper, but induction hobs use less energy. They could save £32 a year compared to other electric hobs due to their clever use of magnetism so only the pan gets hot.