A washing machine at 19:00 can cost three times as much as the same load at 04:00. That's not marketing copy — it's how PVPC pricing works in Spain.
Here's exactly when to run each appliance and how much you save by timing them right.
The two cheap windows in your day
Spanish PVPC prices follow a fairly stable daily pattern:
- Pre-dawn (02:00 – 06:00) — demand is at its lowest and wind generation is usually strong. Cheapest window most days of the year.
- Midday (13:00 – 16:00) — solar generation peaks. In spring and summer this can be as cheap as the pre-dawn window.
The two expensive windows:
- Morning (08:00 – 10:00) — coffee, showers, heating coming on.
- Evening (19:00 – 22:00) — the worst. Cooking, TVs, heating, A/C all on simultaneously. Prices can triple the daily minimum.
What each appliance actually consumes
Before optimizing, know what's worth optimizing. Typical consumption per use:
| Appliance | Typical consumption per use | Time-shiftable? |
|---|---|---|
| Washing machine 40°C | 0.8 kWh | ✓ Delay-start program |
| Washing machine 60°C | 1.5 kWh | ✓ Delay-start program |
| Dishwasher | 1.2 kWh | ✓ Delay-start program |
| Tumble dryer | 2.5 kWh | ✓ Programmable |
| Oven (1 hour) | 2.0 kWh | ~ Hard to shift |
| Iron (30 min) | 1.0 kWh | ~ Hard to shift |
| Air conditioning (1 hr) | 1.0 kWh | ~ When it's hot |
| Hob (cooking) | 0.8 kWh | ✗ At meal times |
| Electric water heater (1 cycle) | 3.0 kWh | ✓ Schedule it |
The three quick wins are nearly always: washing machine, dishwasher, and electric water heater. All three have delay-start or thermostat scheduling.
Worked example: two washes, two prices
A 1.5 kWh wash on a typical May 2026 day:
- At 20:00 with PVPC at 0.210 €/kWh → 0.32 €
- At 04:00 with PVPC at 0.065 €/kWh → 0.10 €
Difference: 0.22 € per wash. Three washes a week = 34 € a year just from pressing the "delay start" button. Add dishwasher and dryer: a typical family saves 80–120 € a year without changing what they consume — just when they consume it.
The catch: noise and standing laundry
Two warnings before you set everything to run at 04:00:
- Apartment buildings have quiet hours. Spanish law typically bans noisy activities between 23:00 and 07:00. Modern washing machines are quiet, but a 1400 rpm spin in an old building can echo upstairs.
- Wet laundry sitting wet. If you wash at 04:00 but don't pull it out until 09:00, it can develop a damp smell. Some machines have "anti-crease" cycles that gently rotate every hour — useful.
If you're worried about noise, the second-best window is 13:00 – 15:00, especially in spring and summer when solar pulls midday prices down.
How to schedule it in 30 seconds
Most modern appliances make this trivial:
- Washing machine: "Delay start" button → set to "8h" → press start. If you set it at 20:00, it kicks off at 04:00.
- Dishwasher: same principle. Some have "Eco-night" presets that already know nights are cheaper.
- Electric water heater: install a plug-in timer (€15 at any hardware store). Set it to run between 02:00 and 05:00.
If you don't want to fiddle with it every night, a smart plug with fixed schedules (TP-Link, Aqara, Meross) costs €12–20 and pays for itself in under six months.
When it's not worth it
If your monthly bill is under €40, optimizing every hour saves you maybe €5–8/month. Not worth the headache. Worth doing if:
- You pay over €60/month
- You have modern appliances with delay-start
- You can spend one weekend evening setting it up
After that, you forget about it.
And if you want the exact cheapest hour…
PVPC changes hourly and publishes around 20:15 the day before. The homepage shows you the 24-hour heatmap with the cheapest hour marked green — for today and (after 20:15) for tomorrow.