What is the Cheaper Way to Stay Warm in This Winter?
Electricity and Gas Price Increases From 1 October
On Saturday 1 October, the cost of electricity and gas will increase significantly for families and small businesses; it is the update with which every three months the Arera energy authority adjusts the consumer tariffs for greater protection to the costs. It will be the coldest season for the economy in recent decades, not only for families but also for businesses, for many of which annual contracts will expire on 30 September, for which renewal there is a worrying scarcity of offers.
For months already, consumers supplied by the free market with variable price contracts have fully felt the increases in energy prices, especially businesses and those two thirds of families who have abandoned the Arera tariffs to switch to free contracts.
In the update of 1 July, the Arera energy authority had managed to postpone the price increases for consumers in the protected segment by another three months. But now the tariffs can no longer hide too many months of the very expensive market.
For Europe, the coming harsh winter may not be easy. Under the circumstance of limited natural gas supply and skyrocketing prices, how can we survive the winter safely?
Chinese Electric Blankets Reach One Million in a Single Month
Recently, electric blanket has quietly become popular. Not only is this old-fashioned small home appliance ushered in a boom in production and sales, but Chinese exports of air conditioners, electric water heaters, electric heaters and other categories to Europe also show a trend of contrarian growth.
Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that in July this year alone, 27 EU countries imported 1.29 million Chinese electric blankets, an increase of nearly 150% month-on-month. For heaters exported to the EU, the sales season has also been extended by about a month. Many importers placed additional orders for heaters, which brought a wave of “replenishment orders”.
How Much It Will Cost to Run an Electric Blanket
The experts have taken a deep dive into the data to discover how much it costs to run an electric blanket compared to heating this winter. Many people are looking for cheaper ways to stay warm as energy bills are set to increase again on October 1.
An expert said: “To calculate how much it will cost to run an electric blanket, you need to understand the cost per unit of electricity. According to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), in October 2022, the cost per pence/kWh of electricity will be approximately 52p, i.e. £0.52 after the recent energy price increase.
“An electric blanket generates heat by running electricity through wires in the fabric. Each electric blanket will have a different power rating and the overall cost will depend on the rating on your blanket’s label.
“For the sake of this example, we’ll use an approximate power of 100W as this is most common for an electric blanket.
- First, you need to convert to kW. 100W is 0.1kW (or 100 divided by 1000).
- Then you simply need to multiply this by the pence/kWh unit.
- This would be: 0.1*0.52 = £0.052.
“This means that running an electric blanket for one hour would cost just over 5p in October 2022.”
Based on the above example, running an electric blanket will cost you around 42p a night (based on 8 hours of use). This is significantly cheaper than having your central heating on all night, and for a smaller 50W or 60W blanket, you’re looking at even less.
Simple Things To Save as Much Energy as Possible
If you’re looking to save as much energy as possible, there are a few simple things to keep in mind for your electric blanket:
- Timer – many electric blankets come with a timer, which is a great way to save energy. You can simply set it to turn off after a set period, so you don’t have to leave it running all night.
- Variable power and heat settings – it may not be a surprise, but using a higher heat setting will up your energy consumption. If you have a variable temperature setting, you can use just enough to stay warm and increase it or decrease it as needed.
- Dual controls for larger blankets – only warm the parts of the blanket that need it! For a single blanket, this could mean the ability to warm just your feet or just your body. For a double electric blanket, it could mean only warming one side of the blanket.
- Prepare in advance: preheat it – rather than blasting it on a high heat before you get into bed, simply put it on a low heat further in advance, this way you won’t use so much power.
- Stay low and add heat when you need it – Start using your electric blanket on low heat. And, if you need a little extra oomph, you can up it for a short period of time.
- Install you own battery storage, unlock the true potential of your renewable home energy system
Energy Storage Equipment Has Also Been Accidentally “Fired”
Not only electric blankets, but the energy storage equipment has also been accidentally “fired”. Data from Basen (https://www.basenpower.com/) Shows that, our sales of September will be double of last month and same month of last year.
For families using air conditioners, refrigerators, and various types of lighting, it is not a problem for the Basen energy storage power supply to last for the whole winter.
The European energy crisis has made natural gas prices high. For the coming winter, ordinary consumers cannot No preparations are made in advance; on the other hand, due to severe inflation in Europe, the overall purchasing power of consumers has declined, while China’s heating and power supply products are more cost-effective and guaranteed in terms of safety and durability.
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