Press the "Delay start" button, set it to 8 hours, and hit Start at 20:00. Your washing machine kicks off on its own at 04:00, right in the cheap window. That's 0.22 € less per wash and 80–120 € a year for a family — without washing a single garment less.
You don't need to buy anything to start. The button is already on your machine. Here's how to use it well, appliance by appliance.
The trick in 30 seconds
Delay start tells the machine "don't run now, run in X hours." Load it, pick a program, set the delay, and forget about it.
- Set it at 20:00 with an 8h delay → it starts at 04:00.
- Set it at 23:00 with 3h → it starts at 02:00.
Pre-dawn (02:00–06:00) is the cheapest window almost all year: low demand, strong wind generation. The most expensive stretch is the evening (19:00–22:00), when prices can triple the daily minimum. Shifting a wash from 20:00 to 04:00 is exactly jumping from the most expensive hour to the cheapest one.
Appliance by appliance
Washing machine. "Delay start" button (or a clock icon) → choose hours until it runs → Start. A 60°C wash is 1.5 kWh; at 40°C, 0.8 kWh. Washing at 30°C instead of 40°C uses 40% less, so combine a low temperature and a cheap hour.
Dishwasher. Same as the washing machine. Many have an "Eco-night" preset that already knows nights are cheaper — switch it on and forget it. One cycle is 1.2 kWh.
Tumble dryer. The glutton of the group: 2.5 kWh per cycle. If you must use it, schedule it pre-dawn too — the saving per use is the biggest of the three here.
Electric water heater. This is often the single biggest consumer in the house (~3 kWh per cycle), and many don't have a built-in timer. Fix: a plug-in timer for €12–15 from any hardware store. Plug it between the heater and the wall socket, set it to run 00:00–06:00, and heat your water while you sleep. Saving: 80–150 € a year.
The smart plug: €12–20 that pays for itself
If your washing machine is old and has no delay start, or you don't want to press buttons every night, a smart plug solves it. TP-Link, Aqara, or Meross cost €12–20, you program them once from your phone ("turn on at 02:00"), and they pay for themselves in under six months.
One important catch: only use them with appliances that start the moment they get power (water heater, washing machines with a mechanical knob). Many digital washing machines "switch off" when you cut the power, and won't resume the program when it comes back. If yours is like that, use its own delay start, not the plug.
What you actually save
A 1.5 kWh wash on a typical 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 a week is 34 € a year just from pressing a button. Add the dishwasher, dryer, and a scheduled water heater and a typical family lands at 80–120 € a year — without using less, just shifting when. (PVPC is the Precio Voluntario para el Pequeño Consumidor, Spain's government-regulated tariff for homes under 10 kW.)
Two warnings before you set everything to 04:00
- Noise and neighbours. Most Spanish apartment buildings have quiet hours (typically 23:00–07:00). Modern machines are quiet, but a 1400 rpm spin in an old building can carry upstairs. If that worries you, the second-best window is midday (13:00–16:00), cheap thanks to solar in spring and summer.
- Laundry sitting wet. If it washes at 04:00 but you don't pull it out until 09:00, it can develop a damp smell. Look for an "anti-crease" function, which tumbles the load every hour and keeps it fresh until you hang it.
And to find today's exact hour
PVPC changes hourly and publishes around 20:15 for the next day. The homepage shows the 24-hour heatmap with the cheapest hour marked green — for today and for tomorrow. Check the map, work out the delay, hit Start.