UK households face £111.90 charges in 7 days due to 40C heatwave AC | Personal Finance | Finance
The heatwave isn’t just set to disrupt your sleep and make it harder to work or exercise this week – but it could also have a knock-on effect on your bank balance.
According to USwitch, the cost of running an aircon unit through this week’s heatwave could well exceed £100 if you ran it 24 hours a day.
It used to be that aircon was really only for foreign holidays, but increasingly UK households are turning to air conditioning units to try to deal with the rising temperatures and frequent and worsening heatwave conditions now making British summers a misery.
At the same time, many major retailers are selling out of aircon units as households snap up appliances to try to keep cool.
But for those trying air conditioning for the first time, experts at USwitch are warning about the potentially costly knock on effect.
USwitch’s own figures say that using a built in aircon unit, which runs at 2.7kW, costs £111.90 if run for 24 hours a day for seven days.
A portable aircon would cost £41.45 on average over the same period, the same as a typical heat pump set to cooling mode.
Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “As the biggest heatwave of the year hits, we’re seeing shops selling out of air conditioning units, delayed delivery dates and other stores hiking their prices.
“Four million UK households already have air conditioning, but every time summer temperatures soar, there’s a growing clamour for cooling.
“Portable air conditioning units typically use 1kW of power, which means they will cost you almost 25p an hour in electricity.
“Built-in units can be even more energy-intensive, with a 2.7kW unit costing you 67p an hour when it’s running at full power.
“Air con can make life more comfortable and potentially improve sleep quality during heatwaves.
“On the other hand, installation costs for fixed systems can be expensive, and electricity costs can quickly add up during hotter periods.
“If you’re looking for a short-term fix during a heatwave, a desktop fan is far less energy hungry – using about 1p an hour in electricity – and can be bought for as little as £10.”
