THE second heatwave to hit the UK will see thousands of households plugging in their fans and maybe even air conditioning to stay cool.
Yet, lots of the appliances people use in warmer weather can cost you a pretty penny.
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And with energy experts Auxilione warning energy bills could reach over £5,000 next year, cutting back on unnecessary costs has never been more important.
However, there is one simple hack you can employ to save money on your energy bills, and it can cost from as little as 65p.
Using tin foil to shield your home from the suns rays can help to keep your home cool and stop you from having to use a fan or air con inside.
All you need to do is cover your windows with the shiny material, especially those that are hit with direct sunlight.
You can do this by wetting the shiny side of the foil and sticking it to your windows.
Archie Lasseter, energy expert at Utilita, said employing the trick could save you a few pounds a year.
However, he added if you have the money, it might be better to invest in a proper radiator reflector, which could save you more in the long run.
He said: “If a 65p roll of tinfoil only saves you a few pounds a year but a £25 radiator reflector saves you tens or perhaps hundreds of pounds, then it’s sensible to go with the higher savings.”
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To be able to get the tin foil to stick properly to a window, you have to cut out pieces of cardboard that will fit to the size of your window and then cover them with a reflective tin foil layer.
You could use Sellotape to do this.
One woman from Seattle previously championed the hack – saying it really does work.
The NHS also recommends keeping rooms cool by using shades or reflective material outside the windows.
Energy bills soared by 54% in April meaning running fans and air con will cost you more than it did last year.
And bills are set to rise further as well.
Yesterday, Martin Lewis said the current economic situation could see people’s lives put at risk.
Using tin foil on the outside of your windows and house would mean you spending less on fans inside.
And having one of the appliances on can cost you in the long run.
The Sun previously worked out how much it costs to leave a fan on at night.
You can use this equation to calculate the cost of a fan: cost = power (kilowatt) × time (hour) × cost of 1 kWh (pence).
So if your fan costs 23.5p to have on for 12 hours, and you have it on for a full week, that adds up to £1.64.
If you had it on every day for that length of time over a month, that would be £7.28.
Air conditioning units are likely to cost even more.
By comparison, buying a pack of tin foil to put on your windows could be a great way to save.
How much will the hack cost?
We looked at shopping price comparison checker Trolley.co.uk to find out where you can buy a cheap roll of tin foil.
Sainsbury’s sell 20 metres of wrapping foil which is 29cm wide for 65p.
Tesco sells a 20 metre pack of Springforce Wrapping Foil for 65p as well.
And Asda‘s Smart Price wrapping foil costs 68p for a 20 metre by 29cm roll.
These prices are what is shown available online and may not reflect in store prices.
And of course, you should always look around to see if you can find a better price at a different shop.
Obviously how much foil you need will depend on the size of your home.
But 20 metres of tin foil should be plenty to cover the windows of n average-sized most homes.
How much do radiator reflectors cost?
If you’ve got the budget and want to make bigger savings, you can buy a proper radiator reflector.
We had a look online to see how much some of them will cost you.
Screwfix is selling one for £6.93 and it comes in just under four metres long.
Meanwhile, B&Q is selling one for £14.08. And it’s 10 metres long.
And you can get three sheets of Radflek Radiator Reflectors on Amazon UK for just under £20.
Other tips to keep cool
If you do decide to use a fan make sure you think about where it is positioned.
You could try putting a fan open in front of an open window.
That might seem counter-intuitive, but it works by pulling cooler air in from outside, and pushing the warmer air out.
You can place a tray of ice in front of your fan on the floor for that extra chill.
The air will be cooled by the ice to create an air-con feeling in any room.
You can read more on The Sun about how to keep cool without any air conditioning.
And here is more on how Britain’s scorching heatwave will last for more than a week.
If you’re thinking ahead to winter, a property expert shared his nifty tip to make your rooms warmer by putting tin foil on top of your radiator.
