Electricity Bill for a Single person in an apartment in the UK (2026)

One adult in a one or two room flat. The fridge runs all year, cooking is quick, and a laptop and TV cover the evenings. Nothing runs long enough to dominate.

Where the electricity goes

End-use shares: DESNZ Energy Consumption in the UK 2025, Table U3, domestic electricity 2024: space heating 14.5%, water heating 4.1%, cooking 7.1%, lighting 4.2%, appliances 70.1%. The split of 'appliances' into cold, wet, electronics and other is not published and is derived from US RECS proportions. Some of these shares are derived rather than published; see the note. This benchmark excludes heating & cooling and water heating, which are on gas or counted separately in this country's statistics.

Through the day

What drives this household's bill

• The largest share here is other appliances at 54% (£225.56 a year), followed by refrigeration & freezing at 15%.
• The fridge is usually the single largest item because it never switches off.
• Cooking with the oven instead of the microwave or air fryer is the easiest cost to cut.
• Standby draw across router, TV, console and chargers can reach a fifth of the total.

Appliance by appliance

Each end-use bucket above is spread over this household's appliances in proportion to their typical use, never at more than twice that use or more hours than the appliance can realistically run. What the listed appliances cannot account for appears as "not listed" rows, so the table still adds up to the official figures. Hours are implied, not measured.

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The same household in other countries

Each row uses that country's own regulator benchmark and average price, in local currency. Differences reflect climate, heating fuel and appliance ownership as much as price.

Compare this household

• Single person in an apartment vs Family of four in a house
• Single person in an apartment vs Couple in an apartment

Other households in the UK

• Couple in an apartment2,500 kWh/yr
• Couple in a house2,500 kWh/yr
• Family of four in a house3,800 kWh/yr
• Family of five or more in a house3,800 kWh/yr
• Student house share3,800 kWh/yr
• All-electric family house6,100 kWh/yr
• Retired couple at home all day2,500 kWh/yr

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