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.
Quick answer: run high-draw appliances between 02:00–06:00 (cheapest most days) or 13:00–16:00 in spring and summer, and avoid the 19:00–22:00 evening peak. The exact cheapest hour is on the homepage heatmap, updated daily.
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.
Charging an electric car
An EV is by far the biggest single load most homes will ever add — a typical charge is 30–50 kWh, more than the average household uses in two or three days. It's also the easiest load to shift, because you plug in overnight anyway.
- A 50 kWh charge at the 04:00 valley (≈0.065 €/kWh) costs about €3.25.
- The same charge at the 20:00 peak (≈0.21 €/kWh) costs about €10.50.
That's roughly €7 saved per full charge — easily €300–500 a year for a daily commuter — just by scheduling the charger (or the car's own app) to start after midnight. Almost every home charger and EV lets you set a start time or a "ready by 07:00" target. Set it once and forget it.
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.