How much it costs to keep an electric fan on all day as UK braces for heatwave

It's very hot for the UK's standards, and the heat is being felt indoors, as people all over the country are breaking out their fans for their bi-annual use.

Temperatures have been announced to hit highs of 30°C over the next week in certain parts of the country, with Brits advised to beware of any signs of heat stroke as the sun will uncharacteristically be present - at least until Friday (28 June).

As we try to find remedies for the hot weather though, the ways we stay cool might be costing us more than we think.

How much does a fan cost to run all day? (Getty Stock Photo)

We are still in the midst of a cost of living crisis, despite energy bills making their way down (slowly), so it is worth noting how much it may be to ensure your coolness throughout the day.

Bills, on the whole, are more expensive than they once were, unfortunately, so while thinking that leaving your fan on all day might now be that bad, it is 2024 after all.

Energy experts from Heat Pumps have shared new data so that members of the public can work out exactly how much running their fan costs, and whether leaving it on 24/7 is worth it.

What you'll need to know is the wattage of your fan, which could be shown on the back of your fan but is definitely shown in the instructions leaflet that it comes with.

After this, you'll need to convert it into kilowatt-hours (kW), but as complicated as this sounds, all you need to do is divide it by 1,000 to give the amount of energy it uses per hour.

After working out the kW, it's a simple multiplication. (Getty Stock Photo)

As for the cost, you need to figure out how much you pay for one unit of energy, which can be worked out by checking your energy provider's website or app.

For direct debit customers, the Ofgem energy price cap as of April 2024 stands at 24.50p per kWh as the cost of a unit of energy.

You multiply the cost of a unit of energy by the kW output of your fan, and that's exactly how much it costs to run your fan in this increasingly tropical climate.

According to energy experts at Heat Pumps, a typical 73W box fan will use 0.073 kwH of electricity every hour, so if you have it on over night, it's around 0.65 kWh per night if you're getting nine hours of sleep.

In a week, this would be an estimated 4.6kWh, and at 24.50p per kWh, it costs £1.12 a week. Not too bad at all.

Different fans will cost different amounts. (Getty Stock Photo)

But if you're using a table fan, these use a bit more at around 0.1 kWh.

So if you're running one of these overnight for all seven days in the week, it would cost you about £1.54.

Portable fans, the smallest and cheapest option, would cost you 15p to run them for the entire week - so the decision is yours, really.

Spend more and stay cooler, or compromise a bit and save a couple of quid. Head-scratcher.