AS the weather heats up it is tempting to reach for a fan to keep temperatures down in your home – but how much will it cost you?
Whether it is a desk fan for when you are working from home or a larger one to keep your bedroom cooler at night most Brits make sure they have one secured for the summer months.
But with the rising cost of living on everyone's minds, it might be worth knowing just how much it is costing you to keep cool.
Household bills are generally lower during the summer months as there is no need to use the tumble dryer or have the heating on.
But be careful not to cancel those savings out with your new household gadget.
So, just how much does running a fan add to your energy bills?
Here's everything you need to know.
How much energy does a fan use?
To work this out you need to find out how much electricity your fan uses.
First, you need to find out its "wattage", which will give you the answer and tell you the amount of power it's using.
Then you need to find the total output you will have to turn that wattage into kilowatt hours.
There's a little bit of maths involved though.
First, you have to divide the kilowatt hours by 1,000 which will give you how much output is used in one hour.
Therefore, if your fan is 70 watts output on its high setting and you always use this, divide 70 by 1000 = 0.07.
You then need to multiply this number by the number of hours you've used the fan.
For example, if you're using it for 12 hours at a time, then 0.07kW x 12 hours will mean 0.84kW output.
How much does it cost to leave a fan on all night?
One you have your kilowatt output, you need to multiple it by the amount you are charged for 1 kW of electricity.
There is no standard price for electricity cost per kWh in the UK, so you'll need to look at your energy bill to find this amount.
Based on the price cap from July, suppliers will be able to charge up to 30p per kWh for electricity.
With this in mind, you'd take your 0.84kW, and times it by 30 – equalling 25.2p.
The equation is: cost = power (kilowatt) × time (hour) × cost of 1 kWh (pence).
So if your fan costs 25.2p to have on for that long, and you have it on for a full week, that adds up to £1.76.
If you repeated that across a month of 4.5 weeks, the cost would be £7.92.
Obviously, costs will vary depending on what type of fan you have, how long you're using it for, what setting it's on and how much you pay for your energy.
Uswitch energy expert Ben Gallizzi said: "Running a 70W fan for 12 hours overnight will cost you almost 28p at current electricity prices, falling to just over 25p when the price cap drops on July 1.
"With temperatures forecast to rise towards the weekend, millions of households will soon be searching in attics and garages for their electric fans.
"Try placing a bowl of ice cubes in front of your fan to send a cooling breeze around your room, and make sure to keep your device free of dust to make sure it runs as efficiently as possible."
The difference betweenKilowatts and Watts
IF you’re trying to calculate energy usage the terms can be confusing, according to OVO Energy
kW stands for kilowatt. A kilowatt is simply 1,000 watts, which is a measure of power.
A kilowatt hour (kWh) is a measure of energy.
So a 1,000 watt drill needs 1,000 watts (1 kW) of power to make it work, and uses 1 kWh of energy in an hour.
That’s why, if you leave a TV or computer on standby, it is still using power and creating a kWh cost on your energy bill
Do fans make a room cooler?
Although fans can't make a room cooler, they can make you feel cooler.
The air moving over your skin can lower your body temperature but won't do much about the heat inside a room.
So if you don't plan on being in the room there's no point in leaving the fan on as it won't do anything to the heat inside the room itself.
How else can I keep cool in the heat?
Relying on just a fan to keep you cool could be adding to bills during a heatwave, but there are other options you could try.
You could try cooling your sheets down before bed by sticking them in the freezer, according to TikTok star That Property Guy.
Shutting curtains and blinds during the day can help the house stay cool, while opening the windows on both sides of your home can create a cooling through-breeze without the cost.
He also recommends avoiding using the oven and turning off appliances which are not in use as they kick off heat too, even on standby.
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said that having a cool shower before bed can set you up for the night to avoid overheating.
You could try putting hot water bottles in the freezer, or a plastic bottle if you don't have one.
You could also make your fan work harder by putting a a bowl of with water and ice in front to cool down the house.
We have also calculated how much it costs to leave your air conditioner on all night.
It's not just us struggling in the heat, here's eight gadgets to keep cool in a heatwave – including your furry friends.
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