Temperatures are set to hit record highs, reaching 40C in some areas of England on Monday (July 18) and Tuesday (July 19). The Met Office has issued its first 'extreme heat' weather warning covering much of the country.
The red warning - the highest alert possible - will be in place from midnight on Monday to 11.59pm on Tuesday. The Met Office had previously issued an amber warning, but it was upgraded today.
Forecasters say 'exceptional, perhaps record-breaking' temperatures will hit the UK. Whether you're still working from home, or if you're trying to get a good night's sleep, staying cool during such extreme weather is vital.
Read more: Met Office issues first EVER red weather warning for 'extreme heat'
While the recent heatwave has been welcomed by the majority of people looking to make the most of summer, Brits aren't used to the sweltering temperatures being forecast for Monday and Tuesday. Typically, British houses don't have air-conditioning so it might be time to dust off your old fan, or even buy a new one.
But, with the cost of energy on the rise, how much does it cost to keep a fan on all night if you're struggling to keep cool? Auto energy switching service Migrate estimates almost half the population use electric fans to help them stay cool during the hot, summer nights, reports the Mirror.
But using a fan overnight can seriously rack up your energy bills. The typical 120w pedestal fan using costs around 3.4p an hour to run on average, according to Uswitch. That might not sound like much, but it soon adds up.
Leaving the fan on between 10pm and 8am would cost you around 33p in energy costs. Doing that for a whole week would cost £2.35 - 75p more than last summer, thanks to rising energy costs. But even the cost of running a fan is tiny compared to air conditioning units.
A portable air con unit costs around 28p an hour in energy costs - that's £19.60 if you use it every night for a week. Of course, if you don't want to use a fan - or discover you can't get one - there are other ways to stay cool.
Other methods of avoiding restless nights include opening a bedroom window, sleeping without bedcovers, sleeping in separate beds, freezing or filling a hot water bottle with ice water, and switching to a lower tog rated duvet.
How to keep cool at night
- Take a cold shower before bed
- Keep bedroom blinds and curtains closed during the day to block out the sun
- Use a spray bottle filled with cold water for a cooling mist on demand
- Create a DIY air conditioner by putting a bowl of ice in front of a fan
- Chill a pair of socks in the fridge and putting them on before bed
Max Green, energy expert at Confused.com which conducted the research for The Mirror, said; "News of a heatwave is an omen of sleepless nights to come. This year the discomfort isn't limited to the night; many homeworkers won't be able to benefit from the perfectly adjusted air conditioning systems of their employer's offices.
"The stifling heat can confuse our judgement when it comes to deciding whether to fork out for an expensive cooling system. They can be costly to buy and run, and are only useful for the few hot days the UK experiences every year."
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