At the Ofgem cap rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026, a hair dryer rated 1500W costs about 6.6p a use and £24.02 a year when 10 minutes a time, once a day.
| Per hour of running | 39.5p |
|---|---|
| Per use | 6.6p |
| Per day | 6.6p |
| Per year | £24.02 (91 kWh) |
Calculated at 26.32p per kWh, the capped electricity unit rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026 on a standard variable tariff paid by direct debit. Electricity carries no VAT in that period, so this is the full unit price. The 54.83p daily standing charge is not included, because you pay that whether or not anything is switched on.
Two things worth knowing about that figure. The cap limits the unit rate, not your bill, so using more still costs more. And it is a Great Britain average: the actual capped rate is set per region, so your own rate could move these numbers either way. It is on your bill.
Hair dryer has no thermostat cycling it on and off, so the running cost is simply the rated power multiplied by the time it is switched on. Short bursts of high wattage cost less than people expect.
Figures for hair dryer run from about 1000W to 2400W. Most of the draw is the heating element rather than the motor, so the heat setting matters far more than the speed setting. Run times are short, so even a 2.4kW dryer is a small annual cost.
Towel dry first and use a lower heat setting. The saving is in minutes of use rather than in the model.
Worrying about it at all. Ten minutes a day at 1.5kW is a fraction of what a tumble dryer or an electric heater costs.
Annual running cost against the appliances closest to it, on the same assumptions. The ordering surprises people: short bursts of very high wattage usually cost less than something modest left on for hours.
| Appliance | Per year |
|---|---|
| Air conditioner | £41.45 |
| Television | £38.43 |
| Hair dryer | £24.02 |
| Microwave | £20.49 |
| Vacuum cleaner | £14.41 |
Across a year, a hair dryer on these assumptions is about 3.6% of a typical annual electricity bill of £658.00 at these rates.
The figures here use the capped rate. If you are on a fixed tariff, or you want to add several appliances together, put your own unit rate into the energy cost calculator on the homepage.