Should you pay for the repair or buy a new one? Put in your own figures for a washing machine, tumble dryer, fridge freezer or dishwasher and see both options costed over five and ten years at the Ofgem price cap of 26.32p per kWh (1 October to 31 December 2026), with every step of the working shown.
The short answer. Whether a repair is worth it depends mostly on how many more years the repair buys, not on how much more efficient a new machine is. Running costs alone rarely pay back a new appliance quickly: at 26.32p per kWh, each £100 of extra spend has to save about 76 kWh a year to pay for itself within five years. That is what this page calls the 76 kWh rule. The calculator also works out your repair ceiling: the most a repair is worth paying on your numbers. Above it, replacing comes out cheaper. Below it, repairing does.
This is a desk-research tool. Look Into has not tested or repaired any appliance for this page. The calculator does arithmetic on the figures you enter; it does not know the condition of your machine.
Repair or replace calculator
Your result
The calculator needs JavaScript. The method section below gives every formula, so the sums can be done by hand.
What the arithmetic shows
1. Efficiency alone pays back slowly: the 76 kWh rule
At 26.32p per kWh, a kWh saved is worth 26.32p. To pay back £100 of extra spend in five years an appliance has to save £20 a year, which is 20 ÷ 0.2632 = 76 kWh a year. A washing machine that drops from 175 to 110 kWh a year saves 65 kWh, or £17.11 a year: not enough to repay even £100 in five years.
| kWh saved a year | Saving a year | Years to repay £100 | £300 | £500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | £13.16 | 7.6 | 22.8 | 38.0 |
| 76 | £20.00 | 5.0 | 15.0 | 25.0 |
| 100 | £26.32 | 3.8 | 11.4 | 19.0 |
| 200 | £52.64 | 1.9 | 5.7 | 9.5 |
| 300 | £78.96 | 1.3 | 3.8 | 6.3 |
| 400 | £105.28 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 4.7 |
Working: years = extra spend ÷ (kWh saved × £0.2632). If your unit rate is higher, savings come faster: at 30p, 67 kWh a year repays £100 in five years.
2. Your repair ceiling
A repair buys a number of extra years. A new appliance costs its price spread over its life, plus its running costs. Comparing the two per year gives the most a repair is worth:
repair ceiling = years the repair buys × (new price and fitting ÷ new lifespan + new running cost a year − old running cost a year)
In the washing machine illustration (repair buys 4 years, new machine £420 fitted lasting 10 years, running costs £28.95 against £46.06 a year): 4 × (£42.00 + £28.95 − £46.06) = £99.57. A £90 repair is under the ceiling, so repairing is cheaper. A £140 repair is over it.
The ceiling rises in step with the years the repair buys. Double the years and the ceiling doubles. That is why the repairer's view of how long the machine has left matters more than any other input.
3. When the old machine is a heavy user, replacement can win outright
If the old appliance costs more to run each year than a new one costs to buy and run per year, the ceiling falls below zero and no repair is worth paying for on cost alone. In the tumble dryer illustration, an old machine using 520 kWh a year (£136.86) set against a new one using 190 kWh (£50.01, plus £49.00 a year of purchase cost spread over ten years) gives a ceiling of minus £151.42. For washing machines, dishwashers and most fridge freezers the gap is usually smaller, and the repair cost and remaining life decide it.
4. Cash and value are different questions
If the repair buys four years, by year four you are likely to buy a new appliance anyway. So over five or ten years the repair route usually includes a purchase too. The calculator shows the cash each route spends and, separately, the value of life left in whatever is in your home at the end. A route that spends less cash but leaves you with an older machine is not necessarily cheaper.
Where to find each number
- Electricity use. New labels for washing machines and dishwashers give kWh per 100 cycles. Multiply by your cycles a year and divide by 100. Older labels (before March 2021) gave kWh a year based on a set number of cycles: 220 for washing machines, 280 for dishwashers and 160 for tumble dryers. The helper above rescales those to your own use. Fridge freezer labels give kWh a year on both versions. Tumble dryers moved to a new label in Great Britain in September 2026; its letters do not match the old ones, so compare kWh, not letters.
- Your machine's current figure. The label figure is measured new under test conditions. A plug-in energy monitor gives a better figure for a fridge freezer over a week. For a washing machine it is harder, because use varies by programme.
- Repair cost and remaining life. Ask for both in writing. A repairer who will say how long the machine should last after the repair is giving you the most important input.
- Spare parts. Under rules that took effect in Great Britain in July 2021, makers of washing machines, washer-dryers, dishwashers and fridges must keep some spare parts available for 7 or 10 years after a model is discontinued, depending on the part. Some parts go only to professional repairers. Older models may not be covered. New GB rules for tumble dryers made in 2026 add a 10-year duty for critical parts on models covered by them.
- Unit rate. Your bill shows it in pence per kWh. The cap figure is a GB average for Direct Debit; regional rates differ. See the UK Standing Charge Postcode Report for how much bills vary by region.
How the calculator works
Running cost a year = kWh a year × unit rate ÷ 100, plus upkeep a year. Every figure is held flat: no price changes, no inflation, no interest.
- Repair route. Pay the repair now. Run the old appliance for the years the repair buys. If that ends before the period you chose, buy the replacement then (price plus fitting) and run it for the rest of the period.
- Replace route. Pay the price and fitting now and run the new appliance for the whole period. If its expected life ends inside the period, buy again.
- Value left at the end. Each purchase, and the repair, is spread evenly over the years it buys. Whatever life is left at the end of the period is credited back. This stops the calculator favouring whichever route leaves you with an older machine. Untick the box to compare cash only.
- Break-even. The first month in which the total cash spent on replacing now is no higher than the total cash spent on the repair route. It often falls just after the repaired machine is expected to give out, because the repair route buys a new one then.
- Payback on running costs. The extra upfront cost of replacing (price plus fitting minus repair) divided by the yearly running-cost saving.
The four illustrations, worked
These use the calculator's starting figures. They show how the sums behave; they are not market averages and should not be quoted as typical costs.
| Illustration | Running a year: old / new | Repair ceiling | 10 years, repair route | 10 years, replace now | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washing machine: £90 repair, 4 years; £380 + £40, 10 years; 175 / 110 kWh | £46.06 / £28.95 | £99.57 | £699.95 | £709.52 | Repair, by £9.57 (too close to call) |
| Tumble dryer: £120 repair, 4 years; £450 + £40, 10 years; 520 / 190 kWh | £136.86 / £50.01 | −£151.42 | £1,261.50 | £990.08 | Replace, by £271.42 |
| Fridge freezer: £180 repair, 4 years; £500 + £40, 12 years; 300 / 200 kWh | £78.96 / £52.64 | £74.72 | £1,081.68 | £976.40 | Replace, by £105.28 |
| Dishwasher: £85 repair, 5 years; £400 + £60, 10 years; 260 / 170 kWh | £68.43 / £44.74 | £111.56 | £880.88 | £907.44 | Repair, by £26.56 |
Ten-year totals are net of the value of life left at the end, at 26.32p per kWh with no upkeep costs. Cash only, over ten years the washing machine repair route spends £867.95 against £709.52, but leaves a machine with six years of its expected life left, credited at £168.00.
What this calculator cannot tell you
- How long any appliance will actually last. Lifespans here are your assumptions. Look Into has no lifespan data of its own and does not supply a figure.
- Whether the repair will hold, or whether another fault follows. A second repair inside the period is not modelled; add it to the repair cost if you expect one.
- Water. Washing machines and dishwashers also use water, which matters if you are on a meter. It is left out.
- Resale or scrap value, finance costs, warranty cover, carbon or waste. Keeping a working appliance in use avoids the materials in a new one, which some people will weigh above the money.
- Prices move. The unit rate changes every quarter; the next cap starts on 1 January 2027.
Questions
Is it cheaper to repair or replace a washing machine?
It depends on the repair cost and how many years the repair buys. Work out the repair ceiling: years bought × (new machine's price spread over its life + its running cost − the old machine's running cost). If the quote is below that figure, repairing is cheaper on these assumptions.
Does a more efficient appliance pay for itself?
Rarely on electricity alone. At 26.32p per kWh, every £100 of extra spend needs about 76 kWh a year of savings to pay back within five years. Old tumble dryers are the most likely exception, because heat pump models use far less.
What does the calculator not include?
Standing charges, water, inflation, interest, resale value and the chance of a second fault. The method section lists every assumption.
Sources
- Ofgem, Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges, 1 October to 31 December 2026: electricity 26.32p per kWh, Direct Debit, GB average. Read 1 November 2026.
- Which?, "New right to repair laws introduced: what do they actually mean for you?" (2021): appliances covered, 7 or 10 years of parts, some parts for professionals only.
- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Raising standards for household tumble dryers: government response (2026): critical spare parts for at least 10 years after a model is discontinued.
- EU energy label regulations retained in GB: 1061/2010 (washing machines, 220 cycles), 1059/2010 (dishwashers, 280 cycles), 392/2012 (tumble dryers, 160 cycles); rescaled labels in kWh per 100 cycles from March 2021 for washing machines and dishwashers.
- Look Into, Cheapest way to dry clothes: tumble dryer label changeover in GB, September 2026.
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