How much are your summer appliances costing you?
Air con, jet washers, hot tubs, dehumidifiers… while we may not need to spend on heating, summer isn’t always as cheap as we think. Find out how to save on your appliances.
Summer is well and truly here, with the recent heatwave sweeping across the UK seeing many of us spending time out in the garden or trying to keep cool inside – perhaps not noticing some of the costs that summer can add to your bills.
With the new energy price cap coming into place on 1 July, Andrew Haydon, expert at Simply Plastics, reveals how much your summer appliances will cost you, and how you can save some money.
How much are your fans and air con costing you?
An average tower fan wattage is 56.5W, which works out to 1.695p per hour of usage. 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 to around 40.68p, which is £2.85 over the course of a week.
If you were to leave your fan on for 12 hours a day, throughout the whole summer, until the energy price cap period ends on the 30th of September, it’ll cost you approximately £18.71.
Wattage for an air conditioning unit is usually between 700 – 1000W. An average of 850W works out as 26p per hour. When used for 12 hours a day, it would cost approximately £3.06, which would be £281.52 over the course of the summer.
How to save money on fans and air con
In the same way that it keeps the heat in during the winter, applying acrylic secondary glazing to your windows can keep some of the heat out during the summer.
This means you won’t need to use your fan or air conditioning as much, and it will eliminate draughts to stop the cool air escaping. In the winter, secondary glazing can save you up to 10% on your energy bills, so could potentially save up to 10% on how much you spend on keeping cool, too.
How much is your hot tub costing you?
According to Google trend data, searches for “inflatable hot tubs” have risen by 208% in the last two weeks, as people upgrade their gardens for the warm weather.
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 to get to the top temperature, which would cost £14.40.
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.
How to save money on your hot tub
Keeping your hot tub covered with an insulated lid when it’s not in use will reduce how much heat escapes and will mean you won’t have to heat it for as long next time you use it.
Most manufacturers recommend changing the water every 1 – 3 months. Investing in the correct chemicals and filter equipment will also mean you won’t have to change the water as often.
How much is your dehumidifier costing you?
The recent heatwave has seen high levels of humidity across the UK, and Google searches for “dehumidifier” have risen by 136% in the last two weeks.
Dehumidifier wattage ranges from small units with around 22 watts, to bigger ones that are up to 500 watts, which means the costs vary enormously. Based on a mini dehumidifier, running 24 hours a day, it would cost you around 16p per day, or £1.12 in a week – but a bigger model could be up to £3.60 per day, or £25.20 a week.
How to save money on your dehumidifier
Try DIY methods to absorb humidity from the air, with things you may already have at home, such as rock salt, baking soda, and charcoal.
How much is cleaning your decking and patio costing you?
You might think that using a jet washer to clean outdoor space costs more than using a hose because of the electricity used. But as they use far less water, you save more money on your water bill than you spend on your electricity. Approximately 3500 litres of water flows through a hose in an hour, which adds up to around £4.90.
How to save money on your decking and patio cleaning
An average jet washer has a wattage of 2500W, which works out to around 75p for an hour of use. It also uses much less water than using a hose, at around 500 litres per hour, which costs around 70p – a total cost of £1.45.
