UK Heatwave: How much does it cost to run a fan? How much electricity a fan uses, and cost of running it overnight in 2022

The UK is basking in sweltering temperatures for a second time this summer, with the Met Office announcing a Level 3 heat alert for many parts of England.

The public has been warned by medical experts to look out for the signs of heatstroke and dehydration, as temperatures are expected to hit 33C in some areas.

As the UK is currently facing a cost of living crisis with energy bills skyrocketing over the last few months, households may be concerned over how much it costs to run a fan during the summer.

Here’s everything you need to know about running a fan in your home:

How long is the heatwave expected to last in the UK?

It is not known exactly how long the UK heatwave will last but high temperatures are forecast for the rest of this week.

Amber, or level 3, Heat-Health Alerts have been put in place for the south west, south east, and East of England, with the same warnings also in place for London and the East Midlands.

The alerts mean that temperatures could exceed 30C and could bring about a rise in demand for healthcare services as people suffer heat-related illnesses, like heatstroke and dehydration.

How much does it cost to use a fan?

The amount of electricity a fan uses depends on what type of model you have, as well as the levels of power needed at its different settings.

Smaller fans are likely to use around five watts of electricity, while big ones could eat up as much as 100 watts.

In order to work out how much it costs to run your fan, you must find out how much energy your fan uses.

If your fan has the highest setting of 80 watts - you’ll need to work out what this equates to in kilowatt-hours (kWh), which is the number of kilowatts used over 60 minutes - the standard metric for energy pricing in the UK.

To do this, you must divide the wattage by 1,000.

This will leave you with how many kilowatts per hour your fan is using.

In the case of an 80-watt fan, this figure will be 0.08 should you always have it on at its highest setting.

You then want to multiply this figure by how many hours you are using the fan for.

If it’s two hours, it will be 0.16kWh - if it’s nine hours because you’re using it overnight, the figure will be 0.72kWh.

Now you know the maximum amount of energy you’re using, you will need to find out how much you pay for each unit of energy.

According to Ofgem, the energy regulator for Great Britain, the average unit price for those sitting on the latest energy price cap is 28p.

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You will then need to multiply this price with the amount of energy your fan has used.

Say your 80-watt fan has run overnight for nine hours, it will have cost you 20p - just over 2p per hour.

Your provider will also charge you a daily standing charge, which under the price cap is 45p.

But this applies to all of your usage and therefore will be spread across all of your appliances and devices, adding a negligible amount to the cost of running each item.