UK households who've had barbecue turned on for 'two hours' this year warned

UK households who've had barbecues turned on for "two hours" this summer have been warned. British Gas, OVO, EDF, Eon and Octopus customers who have barbecues in their gardens have been warned to switch them off in a bid to save cash.

Experts have warned running one for two hours to feed a family of four costs an average £2.70. That is according to the Energy Saving Trust, compared with £1.40 for charcoal models and £1 for electric barbecues, the experts have said.

And patio gas heaters are a pricey option at £9.20 for two hours’ use, according to the EST. Fire pits cost £6.20 over the same timeframe, while electric infrared heaters come in at £2.70, the research from the energy experts added.

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Hot tubs can be a real energy drain costing up to £8 a session to run. The warnings for households and customers come in the wake of the new Ofgem energy price cap kicking in, with a new price point from July 1 meaning customers face paying less.

Regulator Ofgem's new price cap for England, Wales and Scotland came into force on Monday, meaning a typical household's energy bill will fall by £122 a year. That brings down the bill for a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity to £1,568 a year, the lowest for two years.

"Modest falls in summer look set to be wiped out by bigger rises in autumn when people will need to put the heating back on," said Adam Scorer, chief executive of charity National Energy Action. "The cost of energy remains an unaffordable luxury that many of the poorest simply cannot afford."

A typical household uses 2,700 kWh of electricity a year, and 11,500 kWh of gas. Gas prices are now capped at 5.48p per kilowatt hour (kWh), and electricity at 22.36p per kWh.