YOU might be adding extra money onto your bills unnecessarily by using kitchen appliances every day.

There are a few common mistakes to avoid which will help you save cash and steer away from overspending.

Do note these will add up over time, but taking action now to reduce your energy use could help you in the long run.

Making a cup of tea requires only a tea bag and water – and some milk and sugar depending on your tastes.

Surely you can't get it too wrong? Well, each time you fill the kettle more than you need to it's costing money.

Overfill it and you're boiling more water than you need to, costing extra energy and crucially money.

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The exact settings to use on appliances to save up to £372 a year

Three major energy suppliers paying you to turn off appliances tonight

Tashema Jackson, consumer champion at energyhelpline, previously told The Sun: "Adjusting how much water you use and the temperature you boil your water to, can save you around £6 a year."

Of course, the exact amount you can save depends on how much you pay for energy and how many cuppas you have each day – the more you drink the more you stand to save.

For example, it now typically costs 17p to run your kettle for ten minutes, according to Uswitch.

That's based on one with a power rating of 3,000W, so the exact amount depends on your particular one.

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To save, simply take the mug you're using and fill it with water before pouring it into the kettle – that way you know you're only paying to boil what you actually use.

Uswitch added that the savings only represent a few pence, but this all adds up over the course of a year.

The kettle is not the only appliance you could be using in the wrong way that's wasting energy and money either – check the list below and how to avoid it.

Use the correct hob ring for your pan

Use the correct-sized ring for the pan you're cooking with to avoid any excess heat escaping.

If you can see any of the electric ring, or any gas flames, then that means the heat is working hard for nothing, heating the air rather than the pan itself.

Placing a 15cm pan on a 20cm ring could be wasting as much as 25% energy.

Defrost your freezer and don't overfill it

If you don't defrost your freezer regularly it could add as much as £150 a year to your bill.

Getting rid of too much ice regularly keeps the temperature low so the motor doesn't have to work as hard.

When you have too much food stuffed in your fridge or freezer, the appliance struggles to keep the items of food cold, and uses more energy as a result.

Don't leave the oven on longer than you need

You should turn off the oven a few minutes before the food is ready, leaving it to continue cooking in what's left of the heat.

It's going to take a while to cool down anyway, and that extra heat is just going to waste.

You can also get away with not preheating the oven in most cases too.

Most ovens are quick to heat up nowadays so you're likely just wasting excess energy.

Use the microwave instead

Sometimes using the microwave is cheaper than the oven.

Gas stoves use more energy than microwaves so especially if you are reheating food, you can use less energy over a shorter period to get the same result.

Things like jacket potatoes will be cheaper to cook in the microwave too given they'll only need a quick blast compared to the lengthy time they take to bake in the oven.

Don't leave appliances on standby

Energy Saving Trust says that a microwave is one of the appliances that will "eat up electricity" when left on standby.

Switch it off at the plug and you could save money on your energy bill.

This goes for other appliances you have in the kitchen too.

If you leave them on standby they will continue to use power around your house, so unplugging appliances from the walls will guarantee you can't waste any unnecessary energy.

Wash at a lower temperature

According to the Energy Saving Trust switching from a 40 degree wash to a 30 degree one could shave on average £12 a year off your energy bill.

But if you use your washing machine a lot you could stand to save even more.

If you usually wash your clothes on an even higher temperature than this, then you'll save even more by turning the dial down.

Uswitch energy expert Will Owen previously told The Sun: "Use a cold water or 30°C cycle where possible.

"It's only for particularly dirty clothes, bad stains or underwear that you are likely to need warmer temperatures."

If your machine is only half full, you might want to hold off from hitting the start button too.

Waiting until you have a full load of washing means you’re likely to do fewer cycles throughout the year. 

Which? found that doing one big wash four times a week reduces energy consumption by 17% compared to someone doing three smaller washes every day. 

Wait until your dishwasher is full

According to uSwitch, you should wait until the machine is full before putting on a load – you're wasting half the energy otherwise.

The comparison website also says that using an eco setting (which most dishwashers now have) can save as much as 20% of energy use per wash, and that a pre-wash is not needed.

Switch on the right setting

Many aren't aware of the clever settings available on their dishwashers, washing machines, ovens and more to help save energy and cut your bills.

Making some simple tweaks to the way that you use your dishwasher, boiler, washing machine and dryer could help slash your bills by up to £372 a year.

You can read more about the exact settings for each appliance, how much you'll save and more in our guide.

Here's how to use your radiators correctly so you're not wasting cash.

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