Brits look set to swelter in the September heatwave this week, but an air conditioner could add to your bills.
The UK is expected to be hotter than Athens, with temperatures approaching 30C.
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While it may be tempting to buy an air conditioner and leave it on all night, this could increase your energy bill by as much as £28 per week.
Indeed, Will Owen, energy expert at Uswitch, told The Sun that hot weather can cause many Brits to turn to air conditioners.
“While you might not think that home air conditioning is all that common in the UK, a spell of recent hot weather saw Google searches for portable air conditioning units rocket by 133% compared to the previous year,” he said.
How much does it cost to run an air conditioner?
A typical air conditioner costs around 44p per hour to run, according to research by Uswitch.
The average person uses their air con for about four hours 18 minutes during the day and four hours 48 minutes at night.
Based on this running time of roughly nine hours in total through the day and night, this could add £28 per week to your energy bill, USwitch calculates.
If you have the air conditioner on only through the night to keep cool while you’re asleep – assuming nine hours in bed – it would cost roughly the same.
But if you’re running it all through the night and some of the day, it could add up to more.
The exact amount it costs to run depends on how long you use it for, but also the type of air conditioner you have and the amount you pay for energy.
You can save money on the cost of running an air con unit by checking you’re on the best energy deal and switching if you’re not.
Alternatively you could use a fan, which costs around 9p to leave on through the night.
Fans cool by blowing air over your skin, while air conditioners cool the entire room by removing heat.
How else can I keep cool in the heat?
Relying on air conditioner to keep you cool could be a very expensive way to tackle the heatwave this year, but there are other options you could try.
DIY website Family Handyman has come up with ideas that include spraying a sheet with cold water covering a window opening.
With this hack, the breeze will hit the sheet and pass through the cool, damp fabric, which can help bring the temperature down in your home.
The site also suggest trying insulated window films that you can buy to stick on your window.
This cheap to purchase alternative can help cut energy costs as well as offer privacy while you can still enjoy the view and light from outside.
They are also designed to provide up to 98% infrared heat reduction compared to unprotected windows, and reduce the temperature coming in.
They’re only about £11 to buy from places like Amazon as well.
UK weather forecast for Monday 6 September as Brits set to sizzle in late summer mini-HEATWAVE
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