“Doing Most of the Damage”: Joburg Man Reveals Top 20 Electricity Users in Your Home

• A Johannesburg energy expert shared a breakdown of the top 20 electricity appliances and gadgets costing South Africans the most money each month
• With electricity prices already up and winter coming, he says a home running all these appliances will take a hit
• People asked questions about their geysers and whether switching to gas is worth it

TikTok user @wesreddy1 posted on 15 April 2026, sharing a ranked list of the top 20 biggest electricity users in a typical South African home, based on a rate of R3.50 per unit. His message was to stop stressing about everything on the list and focus on the things at the top, because that is where most of the money is going.

According to his breakdown, the geyser sits at number one, using around 240 kilowatt hours a month and costing roughly R840. A heater comes in second at R630 a month, followed by the stove or oven at around R472. The tumble dryer and pool pump both sit at R315 each, and the air fryer costs around R158 a month. From there the costs drop, with the fridge at R140, the washing machine and dishwasher at R105 each. House lighting is also around R105. The kettle, TV, microwave and gaming console round out the middle of the list, while the toaster, iron, router, electric blanket and phone chargers sit at the lower end.

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One thing that he pointed to was the electric blanket. It costs around R32 a month, and he said that it's actually one of the cheapest ways to stay warm. The total monthly cost for a home running all 20 appliances comes to just under R3 800.

Watch the TikTok clip below:

Mzansi debates their electricity consumption

People had a lot of questions and thoughts to share with TikToker @wesreddy1:

@nicholenadine1 said:

"My geyser is killing me!!!"

@LavishHemrajh📿🧿 asked:

"If I switch my geyser off and only switch it on when I need it, will it not take up more power boiling cold water continuously? Please advise."

@T@urus92 questioned:

"My geyser is on 24/7. When exactly does it chow the units?"

@Becca☺️ wrote:

"Guys invest in a gas geyser and stove, life saver 🥰"

@Moosa Ngobz added:

"Switching to a gas stove and heater, along with a solar geyser, was one of the best decisions I've made. I now spend less than R500 a month on electricity 🙏"

@KymsCreations said:

"Nice! They think we all got R3 800 for electricity a month 😡"

More South African electricity and Eskom stories

• Briefly News recently reported on the Supreme Court forcing Eskom to hand over details of contracts it had been trying to keep out of the public eye.
• A South African woman shared one simple kitchen swap that saved her around R2 000 a month on electricity.
• A gent gave South Africans a step-by-step guide on how to track their electricity usage at home.

Source: Briefly News