The short answer
Identify whether your label applies to Great Britain, Northern Ireland or an EU market, and retain its unit and programme. Price annual kWh directly or divide per-100-cycle energy before applying your routine. Enter your own consumption-related tariff in the chosen currency; neither a label class nor a currency switch supplies a household price.
1. Choose the label market before the energy unit
Great Britain, Northern Ireland and EU are separate choices in the label reader. The label’s unit and test programme matter more to the arithmetic than an efficiency letter.
| Source you are reading | Input to look for |
|---|---|
| Fridge/freezer annual label | Stated kWh/year |
| Washing-machine eco 40–60 label | kWh/100 cycles or documented kWh/cycle |
| Dishwasher eco label | Energy for the stated cycle basis |
| EU dryer label introduced in July 2025 | kWh/100 eco drying cycles |
| GB dryer during its transition | The actual annual or cycle unit printed on the source |
| Combined washer-dryer | Washing only or the complete wash-and-dry task |
The GB/NI guide explains the UK distinction. GB transition arrangements can allow different presentations; do not assume the EU changeover date determines every GB label.
2. Keep the exact model and programme
For an EU purchase, use EPREL product information to match the model and label record. For GB, use the applicable manufacturer label and product sheet; a QR destination is not automatically EPREL.
Compare candidates with suitable capacity and compatible programmes. A weighted eco figure is not a measured full-load value for every programme. A complete washer-dryer figure already contains its washing stage.
The per-100-cycle guide uses a documented Bosch label to explain rounding. The GB document is an input-method example, not evidence of a particular model’s availability or registration in every EU country.
3. Convert both energy and minor currency units
Divide a per-100-cycle figure by 100. Leave an already per-cycle figure unchanged. Use annual kWh directly.
For example, the documented label figure 46 kWh/100 cycles becomes 0.46 kWh/cycle. At an illustrative €0.30/kWh and four cycles/week:
0.46 × 4 × 52 × €0.30 = €28.70/year, rounded.
With a separate illustrative £0.28/kWh scenario, the same energy calculation gives £26.79/year. These are two tariff assumptions, not an exchange-rate conversion.
A 30 euro-cent rate becomes 0.30 with EUR selected; 28 pence becomes 0.28 with GBP selected. Currency selection never converts prices automatically.
4. Build your actual laundry or household routine
Use the washing-machine calculator for one compatible cycle group. Load the EUR worked example below or enter your own label and rate.
Add distinct washing tasks and separate drying tasks in the household planner. Avoid counting a washing stage again inside a complete wash-and-dry row.
The heat-pump dryer comparison demonstrates why full-load and half-load figures should stay separate. New EU cycle labels and older GB annual documents can use different bases; do not compare their raw numbers as though the units matched.
5. Include fixed charges when comparing tariffs
A single appliance estimate covers the entered electricity energy. For two household tariffs, fixed charges can change which quote costs less.
The tariff comparison uses annual household kWh, two energy-price periods, an off-peak energy share and daily fixed charges. For a flat-price quote, enter the same peak and off-peak price.
Use the supplier’s actual windows and a consistent tax basis. More complex tiers, hourly prices or seasonal billing need an explicitly simplified scenario or the supplier’s complete comparison. The time-of-use guide includes a worked break-even example.
6. Turn the estimate into a buying decision
Compare purchase plus electricity for two new candidates. If the current appliance works, use replacement payback with the full net replacement outlay.
The scenarios tool lets you change chosen energy, tariff and price assumptions. Its three input sets are scenarios, not future-price forecasts.
Keep the market, exact model, programme, source unit, tariff date and household routine with any saved or printed result. Water, detergent and repairs remain outside an electricity-only estimate unless a separate calculation explicitly includes them.