The UK is having its third heatwave of summer 2022, with amber level three heat health warnings in place for much of England and Wales this week.
The Met Office weather forecast has predicted temperatures could reach the mid-30s by the weekend, while drought conditions are set to continue.
There are several ways you can keep cool in the hot weather, and NationalWorld has put together several guides on how to keep the extreme heat out of your home.
One suggestion is to reach for an electric fan - although this option might not feel like a good idea given the bad news about the Ofgem energy price cap and the cost of living crisis.
But does it actually cost that much to have a fan running - and how can you work out how much electricity your fan will use?
When will heatwave UK end?
High temperatures are forecast by the Met Office to peak between Thursday (11 August) and Sunday (14 August) before cooling down next week.
But before then, the mercury is expected to peak at 35℃ on Friday and Saturday, with some areas potentially on course to record 36℃ on Saturday.
It comes after a record breaking July heatwave that saw temperatures exceed 40℃ for the first time in UK history.
Wales and Scotland also recorded their highest temperatures since records began between 18 and 19 July.
However, the current heatwave is not expected to reach these heights as the sun becomes less powerful in August and daylight hours are shorter than they are in July.
How much does it cost to run a fan?
The amount of electricity a fan uses depends on what type of model you have, as well as the levels of power needed at its different settings.
Small fans are likely to use around five watts, while big ones could eat up as much as 100 watts.
So, you must first find out how much energy your fan uses to be able to predict how much it will cost to run.
Say you have a fan whose highest setting is 80 watts - you’ll need to work out what this equates to in kilowatt hours (kWh) (i.e. the number of kilowatts used over 60 minutes - the standard metric for energy pricing in the UK).
To do this, you must divide the wattage by 1,000.
This will leave you with how many kilowatts-per-hour your fan is using.
In the case of our 80-watt fan, this figure will be 0.08 should you always have it on at its highest setting
You then want to multiply this figure by how many hours you’re using the fan for.
If it’s two hours, it will be 0.16kWh - if it’s nine hours because you’re using it overnight, the figure will be 0.72kWh.
Now you know the maximum amount of energy you’re using, you will need to find out how much you pay for each unit of energy.
According to Ofgem, the UK average unit price for those sitting on the latest energy price cap is 28p.
You’ll want to multiply this price with the amount of energy your fan has used.
Say your 80-watt fan has run overnight for nine hours, it will have cost you 20p - just over 2p per hour.
Your provider will also charge you a daily standing charge, which under the price cap is 45p.
But this applies to all of your usage, and therefore will be spread across all of your appliances and devices, adding a negligible amount to the cost of running each thing.