The Burrow
Apr 8, 2025
Now more than ever, it’s important that we save as much energy as possible. We can all take steps to make sure we use less electricity, but with technology finding its way into so many activities nowadays, it can be hard to cut down on energy usage when we’re looking to wind down with our hobbies.
As energy prices around the world continue to rise, hobbies that use more electricity are starting to put a strain on our wallets too. With that in mind, how can we reduce our energy consumption when taking part in our favourite pastimes, and which hobbies use the most energy?
As experts in comparing energy plans, we analysed some of the most common interests today to find out how much energy the tech involved typically uses, and used our data to show how the costs add up over time. Here’s our list of the 10 hobbies with the highest average daily energy usage, and our tips on how to reduce your energy bill while still taking part in your favourite activities.
You can calculate your hobbies’ daily energy usage by measuring the power needed to run the tools needed in Watts (W). Once you have an idea of how much energy is needed to run any equipment, you can calculate how much money is needed to pay for an hour of running the tools and devices. Here are the hobbies we researched, in order of how much they may add to your energy bills:
With so much heavy machinery involved, woodworking and metalworking can have a major impact on your average energy consumption. Power tools are essential for a wood and metal craftwork, and all rank as some of the most energy-hungry items of any hobby we researched.
Welders can need as much as 9730W of power to run, while other tools like air compressors (1800W) and power saws (3600W) drive up the typical kWh of a DIY session.
On average, a day of woodworking or metalworking adds up to 15.86 kWh of energy being used. That means you’ll be paying AU$6.14 daily for your work, or approximately AU$2,240.95 a year if you’re crafting every day.
While cryptocurrency is one of the fastest growing industries in the world, there’s been concern about its high levels of energy usage. How much energy mining crypto uses depends on the size of your setup, but for a typical beginner, you’ll need some key items that are sure to drive your energy bills up. Large power supplies (1000W), high-performance GPUs (graphics processing units) (320W), and an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) miner (3250W) all add to your average daily energy consumption.
Our data estimates that a day of mining crypto adds up to 4.60 kWh – that can set you back around AU$650.31 every year, or AU$1.78 every day.
Baking is one of the most popular uses of spare time today, but its hidden energy costs may be higher than you expect. Not only does an oven need around 1500W of power to prepare your tasty treats, but other kitchen appliances such as hand mixers (450W) can drive your energy consumption up too.
On average, a baking session can add up to 1.95 kWh. While this only adds up to AU$0.75 in daily energy costs, it can total approximately AU$275.45 over a year-long period.
It’s ironic that a hobby all about getting into nature uses so much energy, but gardening tools use a lot of power to keep your plant life looking perfect. Electric lawn mowers can use as much as 1400W, adding up to 1.4 kWh per use, while electric trimmers and leaf blowers also give a gardening session a high energy cost. Depending on the size of your garden and lawn, this could use multiple battery charges per session, increasing overall costs. It should be noted that the energy usage for these devices is primarily in the recharging of the battery packs themselves, not the usage of the device itself.
It’s unlikely that you’ll be fixing up your garden every day, but for particularly avid gardeners, your hobby could add up to around AU$220.64 in annual energy bills. With an average session totalling 1.56 kWh, you’d be spending AU$0.60 daily.
Even staying fit at home can increase your energy bills. While it’s possible to stay fit without using any power, such as by using a rowing machine, a typical home gym will have some machinery that’s likely to add to your electricity spending.
With how much energy a treadmill uses (1150W), and the high demand of a smart bike (288W), your fitness setup could lead to around AU$203.53 in yearly energy costs. Each session uses an average of 1.56 kWh, costing AU$0.56 each time you work out.
When you think of energy-consuming hobbies, gaming might be one of the first to come to mind, but how much energy a gaming PC uses may not drive your bills up as much as you think.
With a high-performance computer needing 750W of power, and a PlayStation 5 needing 215.2W, a home gaming setup isn’t nearly as intense as using your computer for a hobby like mining crypto. Still, daily gaming sessions can use a total of 1.39 kWh of power – this can add up to roughlyAU$195.99 annually, or AU$0.54 each day.
The technology needed for producing music isn’t particularly power-hungry on its own, but with so many parts needed for a full home studio, you can expect the costs to add up over time. While no tools cost more than AU$0.06 in daily energy costs, a day of making music can add AU$0.20 to your energy bills overall.
Producing music daily, with each session totalling 0.51 kWh, can raise your annual energy spending by around AU$72.56.
Despite needing plenty of electrical equipment, photography and videography are relatively inexpensive hobbies when it comes to household energy bills. In fact, a laptop for processing your videos will cost more to run than a camera, studio lighting, gimbals, drones, and more.
Overall, an hour of producing photos or videos produces 0.2 kW, costing AU$0.08. That means a year of photography and videography adds up to approximately AU$28.82 on your energy bills.
Nowadays, all you need for streaming your favourite shows is a smart TV and an internet connection, making it an energy-efficient pastime for anyone looking to relax without adding to their bills.
With a typical session averaging 0.08 kWh, watching TV every day can raise your total energy costs by just about AU$10.64 per year, or AU$0.03 every day.
For a more energy-efficient way to listen to your music, consider collecting vinyl instead of streaming your music online from a computer. With a turntable using just 2.75W of power, and speakers needing only 19W, you can play your favourite albums for a mere 0.2 kWh.
Across the course of a year, listening to vinyl daily can add as little as around AU$3.07 to your energy costs, making it the hobby on our list that uses the least energy.
Some hobbies will always need electricity to get the best results, but there are ways of cutting down on energy consumption while you take part in your favourite activity. Here are some of our tips for reducing your energy bills during your hobbies:
As much as power tools are much more efficient than handiwork, and often much faster, it doesn’t hurt to use a bit of elbow grease on smaller projects. For crafty hobbies like woodworking, cooking, and gardening, try using tools that won’t require power where possible. Some tasks will need heavy machinery, but it’s easy to get stuck in between bigger tasks.
Where possible, try choosing tools that won’t use as much power. Lots of power tools come with adjustable settings, letting you find a less intense level of power for smaller tasks. Additionally, opting to use rechargeable batteries rather disposable ones can end up saving you money in the long run.
It can be tempting to leave a device plugged in or switched on between uses, just in case you need to use it again at short notice. While in this idle state, however, you’re likely to be wasting energy by keeping your equipment powered even without using it. Be sure to fully switch off devices that aren’t in use so that they’re only powered when needed.
Whether you’re streaming shows on a smart TV, or playing games on a PC, there are changes you can make to your electronic device to put less of a strain on your energy bills. Lowering the brightness of your screen, for instance, can reduce the amount of power it uses, and many electronic devices have power-saving modes for prioritising energy efficiency over performance. Look through your settings and see if you can find ways to use less power.
Head of Energy at Compare the Market Australia, Meredith O’Brien, had the following to say:
“Not only is it important to cut down our energy usage for the environment, but it can also help save us money in the long run too. We could all be doing more to avoid wasting power, even when doing the things that we enjoy, so paying attention to how much our hobbies contribute to our bills is a great starting point to begin saving.”
“Choosing the right deal on your energy bills is also important for making sure your hobbies aren’t driving up your expenses. Make sure you understand the deal you’re being given and compare energy plans to see if you could save.”
This data set looks at which popular hobbies are the most expensive, based on the energy costs of using their related tools for an hour.
All data is correct as of 10/02/25. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided.
Additional Sources
Product energy usage sources found below: