Popular appliance could cost Britons more than £280 this summer

The recent heatwave sweeping across the nation means many Britons have been trying to keep cool indoors or sprucing up their gardens for summer.

While the weather is warm and central heating is not being used, many Britons may not have noticed their energy bills creeping up.

With the new energy price cap coming into place on July 1, Andrew Haydon, an expert at Simply Plastics, has shared how much summer appliances could be costing you.

Fans and air con

According to Mr Haydon, an average tower fan wattage is 56.5W, which works out at 1.695p per hour of usage.

He continued: “With many people working from home, fans are often left on all day and night to keep cool.

“Leaving a fan on for 24 hours works out at around 40.68p, which is £2.85 over the course of a week.”

Those who leave their fan on for 12 hours a day throughout the summer until the energy price cap period ends on September 30 could end up spending an extra £18.71.

Air conditioning units could cost Britons even more money. Wattage for an air conditioning unit is usually between 700W and 1000W.

An average one with 850W works out at 26p per hour which means when it’s used for 12 hours a day, it would cost “approximately £3.06, which would be £281.52 over the course of the summer”.

Dehumidifiers

Dehumidifiers have seen a surge in popularity recently with Google searches for “dehumidifiers” having risen by 136 percent in the last two weeks.

There are small and large dehumidifier models. Dehumidifier wattage can range from small units with around 22 watts, to bigger ones that are up to 500 watts, which means the costs of running one can vary enormously.

Based on a mini dehumidifier, running 24 hours a day, it would cost a homeowner around 16p per day, or £1.12 per week to have one. However, a bigger model could cost up to £3.60 per day, or £25.20 a week.

Hot tubs

Searches for “inflatable hot tubs” have risen by 208 percent in the last two weeks, according to Google Trends data.

While a hot tub is a great addition to any garden, they do come with hidden costs.

An average-sized inflatable hot tub, for up to four people, has a heating and pump system that uses around 2kW per hour.

From cold tap water, it can take around 24 hours for hot tubs to get to their optimum temperature, which would cost £14.40.

Mr Haydon added: “With an average capacity of 800 litres, it would add approximately £1.12 to your water bill each time you fill it, depending on your area of the UK.”

Hosepipes

Hosepipes are often used to water plants, fill up paddling pools and clean decking and patios in the summer months.

While they are useful, they could be costing homeowners money to run. Approximately 3500 litres of water flows through a hose in an hour, which adds up to around £4.90.

Jet washers are a great way to clean patios, decking and paving without having to manually scrub them by hand. While they do use electricity, they are actually cheaper to run than a hosepipe because they use far less water.