UK households with vacuum cleaners face £4.80 charges from April 1 | UK | News
Vacuum cleaners could cost around £4.80 a year in some UK homes from the start of next month, The Express calculates. From 1 April, people in England, Wales and Scotland who use a standard variable tariff and pay for their electricity via Direct Debit will pay an average of 24.67 pence per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
This represents a 7% drop in the current price cap of 27.69 pence per kWh, with Ofgem saying the main reason for the drop is Government budget interventions. As a result, your electricity bills may soon be lower, but it’s worth noting that using multiple devices can increase your electricity costs over time.
This includes appliances that you may only use for short periods throughout the month, such as a vacuum cleaner.
Cleaning guru and This Morning pundit Lynsey Crombie, who has worked with a range of cleaning brands, previously said: Women and Home While vacuuming habits are a personal preference, “our data tells us that most people will vacuum thoroughly once a week, typically for 25 minutes in an average-sized home.”
Citizen Advice‘s electricity cost tool allows you to enter how much you use devices and get a rough idea of how much they contribute to your electricity bill.
It is estimated that vacuuming for 25 minutes a week with a typical corded model will add around £5.40 to your energy bill over 12 months under the current limit (27.69p per kWh).
This level of usage equates to approximately 1p per day, 10p per week or 45p per month.
Under the April 1 price cap (24.67p) the cost of the same use will fall to around £4.80 over 12 months, i.e. 1p per day, 9p per week or 40p per month.
However, it’s worth noting that the estimate is based on a vacuum cleaner of around 900W (towards the maximum power output you’ll find), although power output and efficiency vary greatly between models.
And while these estimates help give us an idea of the broad costs the cap represents over a longer period, the maximum cap on unit rates and standard charges is reviewed by the regulator every three months and does not remain in place for a full year.
Meanwhile, the flat rate will rise slightly to 57.21p per day from the current level of 54.75p.
The ceiling price on April 1 will be valid until June 30, and the next price ceiling will be announced on May 27.
