THE weather is finally starting to improve, which means many of us will be bringing down our fans from the loft.
But how much do they cost to run? And will leaving it on all night lead to rocketing energy bills?
Whether it is a desk fan for when you are working from home or a larger one to keep your bedroom cooler at night, most Brits make sure they have one secured ahead of the summer months.
Although energy bills are continuing to fall, it's still worth knowing just how much these gadgets cost to keep cool.
Household bills are generally lower during the summer months as there is little need to use the tumble dryer or turn on the heating.
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But don't fall into the trap of cancelling those savings with your trusty cooling gadget.
So, how much does running a fan add to your energy bills?
Here's everything you need to know.
How much energy does a fan use?
To work this out you need to find out how much electricity your fan uses.
First, you need to find out its "wattage", which will give you the answer and tell you how much power it uses.
Then you need to find the total output you will have to turn that wattage into kilowatt hours.
There's a little bit of maths involved though.
First, you have to divide the kilowatt hours by 1,000 which will give you how much output is used in one hour.
Therefore, if your fan is 70 watts output on its high setting and you always use this, divide 70 by 1000 = 0.07.
You then need to multiply this number by the number of hours you've used the fan.
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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 all night?
Once you have your kilowatt output, multiply it by the amount you are charged for 1 kW of electricity.
There is no standard price for electricity cost per kWh in the UK, so you'll need to look at your energy bill to find this amount.
Based on the April 2024 Ofgem price cap, suppliers charge those on the standard variable tariff up to 24.50p per kWh for electricity.
With this in mind, you'd take your 0.84kW, and times it by 24.50 - equalling 20.58p.
The equation is: cost = power (kilowatt) × time (hour) × cost of 1 kWh (pence).
So if your fan costs 20.58p to have on for that long, and you have it on for a full week, that adds up to £1.44.
If you repeated that across a month of 4.5 weeks, the cost would be £6.48.
Obviously, costs will vary depending on what type of fan you have, how long you're using it, what setting it's on and how much you pay for your energy.
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 in leaving the fan on.
Fans do not 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 adding to bills during a heatwave, but there are other options you could try.
You could try cooling your sheets down before bed by sticking them in the freezer, according to TikTok star That Property Guy.
Shutting curtains and blinds during the day can help the house stay cool, while opening the windows on both sides of your home can create a cooling through-breeze without the cost.
He also recommends avoiding using the oven and turning off appliances which are not in use as they kick off heat too, even on standby.
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said that having a cool shower before bed can set you up for the night to avoid overheating.
You could try putting hot water bottles in the freezer, or a plastic bottle if you don't have one.
You could also make your fan work harder by putting a bowl of with water and ice in front of it to help cool down the house.
We have also calculated how much it costs to leave your air conditioner on all night.
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