High cost of running electric fan all night amid ‘threat to life’ heatwave

Extreme heat and a cost of living crisis could see families struggling to decide between keeping cool and cutting costs – despite a horrifying “threat to life” warnings from the Met Office.

The weather experts issued an amber extreme heat warning earlier today (Monday, July 11), as temperatures look to build later this week and might even smash the record for the UK's hottest ever day.

The record high temperature in the UK is 38.7C, which was reached at Cambridge Botanic Garden on 25 July 2019, but experts think that mark could be smashed this week.

READ MORE: UK facing 'hundreds' of deaths as 43C heatwave 'could melt train tracks'

One meteorologist said that temperatures in excess of 40C in some parts of the country "can't be ruled out."

The amber warning, which has been issued for Sunday, 17 July, highlights likely adverse health effects for the public, not just limited to those most vulnerable to extreme heat. Temperatures could be in excess of 35C in the southeast, and more widely around 32C within the warning area.

These high temperatures could extend into the early part of next week and an extension of the warning will be considered in the coming days.

The scorching temperatures have left people reaching for their fans and air con units to keep cool.

But energy and pricing specialists Uswitch have warned that keeping a typical 120w pedestal fan on all night could eat up around 3.4p an hour of electricity – this would be a not so budget-friendly amount of 33p per night if left on from 10pm to 8am.

And doing that for the next seven nights could eat up £2.31.

With the hot weather set to carry on for at least three to four weeks, it could see families spent an extra £10 or more just trying to keep one room cool.

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  UK facing 'hundreds' of deaths as 43C heatwave 'could melt train tracks'

A typical family of four in a three bedroom house could be spending an extra £40 this month just trying to survive the heat.

A Uswitch spokesman said: “This year the discomfort isn't limited to the night; many homeworkers won't be able to benefit from the perfectly adjusted air conditioning systems of their employer's offices.

“The stifling heat can confuse our judgement when it comes to deciding whether to fork out for an expensive cooling system.

“They can be costly to buy and run, and are only useful for the few hot days the UK experiences every year.”

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