Off-peak electricity

Best products for off-peak energy savings

These six products help in one of two ways. Some can run on cheap overnight electricity. Others simply use fewer units than the thing they stand in for. Intelligent Octopus Go’s published new-customer off-peak rate is 7.6p/kWh, from 23:30 to 05:30. The comparison rate is Ofgem’s October–December 2026 electricity cap average, 26.32p/kWh. The standing charge is left out, because it does not change with the unit rate.

The sums below use the wattage on the listing, or a running-cost example already used on this site. A heater or dehumidifier may not draw its rated power for every minute. Amazon prices change, so check the listing before you buy.

We may earn a commission if you buy through the Amazon links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Those links are paid links and use the tag smartshiftuk-21.

Overnight laundry

MeacoDry Arete One 12L dehumidifier

Laundry mode runs for six hours, then switches off, so a load started at 23:30 finishes inside the cheap window. It also pulls moisture out of the room while the washing dries.

152W × 6h = 0.912 kWh = 6.9p off-peak vs 24.0p standard.

Meaco’s published example is about 4p an hour at 26.32p/kWh. That is about 152W (4 ÷ 26.32). Six hours at that draw is the 24.0p figure.

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Overnight laundry

Lakeland Dry:Soon Mini heated airer

A heated airer is a low, steady load, so it fits the six-hour cheap window. The figure below is only the airer’s electricity, not the cost of washing the clothes first.

198W × 6h = 1.188 kWh = 9.0p off-peak vs 31.3p standard.

Lakeland rates this Mini at 198W. The sum assumes it draws that for the whole six hours.

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Overnight laundry

BLACK+DECKER heated airer with cover

The cover holds the warm air around the clothes. At the listed 300W it is still a small overnight load beside a tumble-dryer cycle, if the clothes are dry before the window ends.

300W × 6h = 1.8 kWh = 13.7p off-peak vs 47.4p standard.

The listing is 300W. A shorter dry costs less: 300W × 1h = 0.3 kWh = 2.3p off-peak vs 7.9p standard.

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Shift a load you already own

Tapo P110M smart plugs

These plugs meter watts and can switch on a schedule, which is useful for a dehumidifier or heated airer that does not have its own timer. They do not make the appliance use less power. The saving is the unit rate you move the load to. Stay inside the plug’s rating.

2 kWh × (26.32p − 7.6p) = 37.4p saved.

That is an example load of 2 kWh, not the plug’s own consumption. Each unit moved saves 18.72p.

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Store cheap power

EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro, 768Wh

Charge it in the 7.6p window, then run a laptop or a lamp from it when the day rate is 26.32p. The tariff creates the cheap rate. The battery only moves when you use that energy.

768Wh = 0.768 kWh = 5.8p off-peak vs 20.2p standard.

That is the energy stored, before the charger’s own losses. The gap between those two figures is 14.4p.

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Use fewer units

Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone air fryer, AF400UK

It cooks two dishes at once and heats a much smaller space than a full oven, so the same meal can use fewer units. You would usually cook at dinner, not at 23:30. The rate comparison still applies whenever you run it.

2,470W × 0.5h = 1.235 kWh = 9.4p off-peak vs 32.5p standard.

The Amazon listing and Ninja’s AF400UK page both rate it at 2,470W. Half an hour at that rated power is an example, not a recipe. Elements cycle, so a real cook can use less.

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Heating, and the car

If the saving you want is heat rather than electricity, the tado° Smart Radiator Thermostat X starter kit (paid link) lets each radiator follow its own schedule, so unused rooms can stay cooler. That is gas heat. There is no honest 7.6p figure for it.

An electric car is often the largest overnight load in the house. This page does not list a charger, because there is no verified current UK wallbox on the site. Yearly home-charging costs for 100+ cars are on the EV page.

See EV charging costs

Sources