Huge winter energy bills may be behind us for the next few months, but the cost of using kit that only comes out when the sun is shining can quickly take a bite out of savings.
The price cap will fall to £2,074 a year from July, just in time for summer, but experts have warned that most families won't see much difference to their bills overall, as the extra £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBBS) paid last year will not be repeated in 2023.
According to Uswitch, households spend an average £581 less on gas and electricity over the warmer half of the year compared with the colder months, as the temperature rises and there’s no need to heat your home. But there are still energy bills to pay – and in really warm weather, like the 35C heatwave the UK experienced in July 2022, the cost of keeping cool can add up.
Read more: Save more than £100 by changing the way you pay your energy bill
In general, devices that create heat tend to use a lot of energy so barbecues, hot tubs and patio heaters are the biggest energy guzzlers when the sun shines. Here we look at the appliances that come out in the summer and how much they will cost you to run:
Gas patio heaters
If you enjoy sitting out in your garden on a summer’s evening, you’ll know that the temperature can quickly drop. Patio heaters can be great for extending your time outside, but they can be costly to run. Gas-powered patio heaters are notoriously energy-guzzling, using around £1.20 worth of canister gas per hour. But even the more energy-efficient plug-in versions can add 33p per hour to your electricity bill.
Gas Barbecues
Gas barbeques take much less time to get up to temperature, are much easier to control, and easier to clean up than traditional charcoal barbecues, but convenience can come at a cost. Gas retailer Calor recommends a 5kg Patio (propane) gas bottle for small and medium-sized barbeques, which costs around £25-£30 for a refill or £80 upwards if you are starting off and have to purchase the bottle too. The exact cost of fuel per hour depends upon the amount of burners your barbecue has, but generally, gas barbecues cost around 72p per hour.
Hot tubs
Hot tubs became very popular during lockdown but many have sat unused since energy prices started to soar. While hot tubs cost less per hour than patio heaters or barbecues, bills also escalate fast if you use your a lot. They cost 66p an hour on average, although the less energy intensive standby mode is less. Use yours three times a week for four hours, and the monthly bill could mount up to over £30.
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Keeping cool
A typical portable air conditioning unit costs 33p an hour while running, so can be an expensive way to cool down. By contrast, fans cost just over 1p an hour on average to run, so even if you used one eight hours a night for three months you would still spend just £8. To make it even cooler, place a bowl of ice cubes in front of an electric fan so it blows the ice-cooled air around the room.
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