TEMPERATURES are due to reach highs of 34C this week, so a blast of cool air will be a welcome break for sweltering Brits.
But with energy bills rocketing at an even faster pace than your rising outdoor thermometer, is it costly to leave a fan on to cool down?
It comes as people across the country struggle to cough up the funds to pay of the bills stacking up on the front doorstep.
Last month energy bills soared by 54%, bringing the average annual price a household has to fork out for, to £1,971.
It's because the price cap went up on April 1, adding almost £700 on average to about 18 million households' standard tariff bills across the UK.
But bill-payers aren't in the clear yet, as a further increase to the cap could make it rise to £2,800 later in the year too, adding ANOTHER £800 to bills.
That's not the only thing that's got Brits hot under the collar though.
Friday is set to be the hottest day of the year, with sun-starved households heading to the nation’s beaches and parks over the weekend.
MOST READ IN MONEY
DIAL UP 
Millions on benefits overpaying on broadband – are you eligible for cheap deals?
Claiming benefits could be EASIER for millions of people with sick note shake-up
Cadbury's Flake shortage threatening to wreck a summer rush for 99 ice creams.
Martin Lewis issues urgent warning over scam that will steal your bank details
But those opting to stay at home might be in for more than a burn when they look at the electricity bill they've racked up leaving the fan on all day.
We explore how much the heatwave hack costs to run in the summer months when it's needed most.
How much energy does a fan use up?
To work this out you need to find out how much electricity your fan uses. Finding out the "wattage" of a fan will give you the answer and tell you the amount of power it's using.
Then you need to find the total output you will have to turn that wattage into kilowatt hours.
There's a bit of maths involved as first you divide the kilowatt hours by 1,000.
This will give you how much output is used in one hour.
So if your fan is 70 watts output on its high setting and you always use this, divide 70 by 1000 = 0.07.
Then multiply this number by the number of hours you've used the fan. For example, if you're using it for 12 hours at a time, then 0.07kW x 12 hours will mean 0.84kW output.
How much does it cost to leave a fan on for that long?
Now that you know your kilowatt output, you need to times it by the amount you pay for 1 kW of electricity.
There is no standard price for electricity cost per kWh in the UK, so to find this amount, look on your energy bill.
It's worth noting if you are on a default tariff and subject to the price cap, then your supplier can currently charge up to 28p per kWh.
With this in mind, you'd take your 0.84kW, and times it by 28 – equalling 23.5p.
The equation is: Cost = power (kilowatt) × time (hour) × cost of 1 kWh (pence).
So if your fan costs 23.5p to have on for that long, and you have it on for a full week, that adds up to £1.64.
If you had it on every day for a month, that would be £7.28.
Of course, costs will vary depending on the type of fan you have, how long you're using it for and how much your energy costs.
Plus it will depend on the cost of your tariff.
The difference betweenKilowatts and Watts
IF you’re trying to calculate energy usage the terms can be confusing, according to OVO Energy
kW stands for kilowatt. A kilowatt is simply 1,000 watts, which is a measure of power.
A kilowatt hour (kWh) is a measure of energy.
So a 1,000 watt drill needs 1,000 watts (1 kW) of power to make it work, and uses 1 kWh of energy in an hour.
That’s why, if you leave a TV or computer on standby, it is still using power and creating a kWh cost on your energy bill
Do fans make a room cooler?
Although fans can't make a room cooler, they can make you feel cooler.
The air moving over your skin can lower your body temperature but won't do much about the heat inside a room.
So if you don't plan on being in the room there's no point of leaving the fan on as it won't do anything to the heat inside the room itself.
How else can I keep cool in the heat?
Relying on just a fan to keep you cool could be a very expensive way to tackle the heatwave this year, but there are other options you could try.
Family handyman has come up with ideas that include spraying a sheet with cold water covering a window opening.
With this hack, the breeze will hit the sheet and pass through the cool, damp fabric, which can help bring the temperature down in your home.
The site also suggest trying insulated window films that you can buy to stick on your window.
The cheap to purchase alternative can help cut energy costs as well as offer privacy while you can still enjoy the view and light from outside.
They are also designed to provide up to 98% infrared heat reduction compared to unprotected windows, and reduce the temperature coming in.
They're only about £15 to buy from places like Amazon as well.
We have also calculated how much it costs to leave your air conditioner on all night.
It's not just us struggling in the heat, here's how to keep your pets cool as well a warning signs to look out for.
Source: Read Full Article