You’ve been using your fan all wrong – simple mistakes to fix to keep your bills down
PLENTY of households will be blasting on their fans as warmer weather sets in across the UK.
Many people will be fetching the gadgets from backs of cupboards and lofts to stay cool.
But while fans area ideal if you’re looking to get a good night’s sleep, costs can add up fast.
If used properly, you don’t have to fork out an arm and leg though.
We’ve looked at the most common mistakes people make when using the gadgets, and how to save money.
Turn it down
It might be an obvious trick, but turning down your fan to its lowest setting is one quick way of saving money.
Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch, previously told The Sun: “Fans are at their most efficient on their lowest power setting, so pick the slowest speed that gives you a decent cooling breeze.”
Before buying a fan, make sure you test it out to ensure the lowest setting still keeps you cool enough.
Remember too, the most expensive option isn’t always the best one.
Make sure to shop around and look at customer reviews to figure out what model you should buy.
Keep it chilled
Despite what you might think, fans don’t actually cool air down, they just recirculate air from inside the room.
There are tricks you can use to make the air next to the fan colder though.
Sarah said: “You could place your fan in front of an open window to improve its cooling effect – although if it’s an especially hot day, this may mean blowing warm air through the house.
“A better trick is to place a bowl of ice cubes in front of the fan, which will give you a lovely cool breeze.”
The Earthtopia TikTok account previously revealed how putting your fan in the corner of your room, or on the floor, can help too.
This is because the air is coolest in these parts of the room.
How to save on your energy bills
SWITCHING energy providers can sound like a hassle - but fortunately it's pretty straight forward to change supplier - and save lots of cash.
Shop around – If you’re on an SVT deal you are likely throwing away up to £250 a year. Use a comparion site such as MoneySuperMarket.com, uSwitch or EnergyHelpline.com to see what deals are available to you.
The cheapest deals are usually found online and are fixed deals – meaning you’ll pay a fixed amount usually for 12 months.
Switch – When you’ve found one, all you have to do is contact the new supplier.
It helps to have the following information – which you can find on your bill – to hand to give the new supplier.
- Your postcode
- Name of your existing supplier
- Name of your existing deal and how much you payAn up-to-date meter reading
It will then notify your current supplier and begin the switch.
It should take no longer than three weeks to complete the switch and your supply won’t be interrupted in that time.
Dust it off
Take inspiration from Taylor Swift and shake off any dust from your fan unit to ensure it’s working efficiently.
Make sure to get inside any nooks and crannies so all detritus has been cleared from the blades too.
Sarah said: “If you’ve just got your fan out of the garage or attic it may have accumulated a lot of dust, which can reduce the efficiency of the mechanism.
“Give your fan a good clean, removing any dust from the blades and any other surfaces.”
Not only will removing any dust make the fan work better, it will make your room less stuffy.
Emily Seymour, Which? sustainability editor, previously said: “It will mean the fan doesn’t blow the dust around so you won’t wake up feeling bunged up if you do leave your fan on at night.”
Oscillation is key
Oscillation Fans that oscillate (move from side to side) are best, according to Ovo Energy.
This is because they move air around a whole room, rather than just cooling down one specific spot.
The good news is that most fans, even the cheapest ones, should have this feature.
How much energy does a fan use?
To work out how much electricity a fan uses, you first have to work out its wattage.
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 1,000 = 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?
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 at your energy bill.
Based on the price cap from July 1, suppliers will be able to charge up to 22.36p per kWh though.
With this in mind, you’d take your 0.84kW, and times it by 30 – equalling 18.7p.
The equation is: cost = power (kilowatt) × time (hour) × cost of 1 kWh (pence).
Of course, how much it costs to run your fan overall will depend on how long you have it on.
But, if you had a 70 watt fan on for eight hours a day for a week from July 1, that will cost you around £10.47.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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