A clothes iron costs only about 2p to 3p for ten minutes of ironing at the standard UK electricity rate of roughly 26p a unit, and a year of weekly ironing comes to just a few pounds. An iron pulls a lot of power, often two kilowatts or more, but it cycles the element on and off as it holds temperature and you use it in short bursts, so the cost is small. This short guide gives the real per-session and yearly figures and the wattage worry to rest.
The short answer. A typical 2,400W iron on full would cost about 63p an hour at 26p per kWh, but it rarely draws full power throughout, because the thermostat switches the element off once it reaches temperature and back on to top up. In practice ten minutes of ironing uses around 0.1 to 0.2 kWh, costing roughly 2p to 5p. Iron for half an hour a week and you spend around 5 pounds a year. A steam generator iron uses a little more.
Why a high-wattage iron is still cheap
An iron's power rating tells you how fast it draws energy when the element is on, not how much it uses over a session. A modern iron sits somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 watts, which sounds alarming, but the thermostat cycles the element on and off to hold the soleplate at temperature, so it is not pulling full power the whole time. Add the short bursts most people iron in and the energy used is modest. It is the same trap the toaster and the kettle set: high-power appliances that run briefly are cheap, while low-power ones that run for hours quietly cost more.
What ironing costs
The table gives typical costs at the standard price-cap rate of about 26p per kWh, current in mid 2026. The energy used depends on the fabric, the setting and whether you use steam, so treat these as worked examples. Steam ironing uses a little more because heating water to make steam takes extra energy.
| Ironing session | Rough energy | Cost | Year at once a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| A few shirts (10 min) | ~0.15 kWh | ~4p | ~£2.00 |
| Half an hour | ~0.4 kWh | ~10p | ~£5.40 |
| A full basket (1 hour, steam) | ~0.9 kWh | ~24p | ~£12.20 |
At an example 26.11p per kWh, the Ofgem price cap for July to September 2026. Energy depends on fabric, temperature and steam use. A steam generator iron draws more because it heats water for steam, but irons faster.
Whichever way you iron, it is firmly in the pennies. Even a big weekly basket done with a thirsty steam iron struggles past a tenner a year. To settle your own figure, a plug-in energy monitor reads the iron directly, cycling and all.
Small habits that shave the cost
There is little money to chase, but a few habits keep it cheap and safe. Iron a batch in one go rather than heating the iron up for a single shirt, since most of the energy goes into getting the soleplate hot in the first place. Sort by fabric and start with the low-temperature items, working up, so the iron is not reheating up and down. Switch it off a minute before you finish and use the stored heat in the plate for the last few items. And take clothes off the line or out of the machine promptly, because a good spin and a smooth hang leave far less to iron at all. None of it transforms a bill, but the habits are free.
The bottom line
An iron is one of the cheaper appliances to run: a few pence a session, a few pounds a year even used weekly. The high wattage on the label overstates the cost, because the thermostat cycles the element and you iron in short bursts. If you are hunting for real savings, this is the wrong appliance to chase; the what uses the most electricity in your home guide shows where the money actually goes.