UK households barbecuing 'three times a month' before August warned

British Gas, OVO, Octopus and EDF customers who are barbecuing three times a month before August are at risk of a £8 charge. Households heading out into their gardens to make use of the best of the weather have been warned.

Consumer expert Martyn James, described these household items as “sunshine zapping appliances”. “My tip to cut down on using these sunshine zapping appliances over the summer is to precook most of your food in the oven beforehand and then just finish it off on the BBQ.

“There is also loads of guidance online to work out how much energy you're using if you have a smart metre," he told The Sun. Electric fans will cost households £12.48, with Nicholas Auckland, energy expert at Trade Radiators, warning in an interview with the newspaper: “The usual wattage of a fan ranges anywhere from 20W-75W.”

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“The 75W fans will likely be stronger and more effective, however they do use up more energy and therefore cost more to run,” he explained. Electric showers and portable air con units, meanwhile, cost £24 and £250 respectively.

“Generally, the weakest shower in terms of wattage is around 6.5kW, while the highest is 10.8kW,” Nicholas explained. Electric BBQs will cost £8 if you use it over three months of summer, at a cost of 89p per every two hours, and £2 per month if it is used three times a month.

Dehumidifiers, meanwhile, cost £1.11 per monh to run if it is a lower energy, 20W one. But a higher wattage - for instance, 500W - means it could be costing you £82 across the three month June, July and August summer spell.

If you had four 60W outdoor lights on for an hour a day this would cost around 5p, Nicholas said. For 4 hours with all 4 lights on, this would increase to roughly 20p, and over the course of 7 days it would add up to £1.40.