How much do YOUR luxury home appliances cost to run? Agas could cost £1,717 with Peletons set to rocket to 39p per ride due to soaring energy bills (and you might regret the lockdown hot tub which may now cost £251-a-year to run)
- Aga owners are facing £1,208-a-year bill to run an electric model at current energy price capped rate
- But increase in Ofgem cap by 42% in October would see annual bill of running the oven hit £1,717 a year
- Uswitch analysts have also looked at rise in cost of running other luxury items such as pools and hot tubs
While the skyrocketing prices of gas and electricity bills impact Britons across the country, they are also having an huge impact on the running costs for properties of the super-rich thanks to their high-energy homes.
And the economics of running an Aga cooker – known as ‘aganomics’ – is now among the biggest topics of the upper classes who currently have a £1,208-a-year bill to run an electric model at the Ofgem price capped rate.
Analysts at Uswitch said a rise in the energy cap by 42 per cent in October, which is the current market estimate, would see the annual bill of running such an oven – which is designed to be always on – hit £1,717 per year.
The concept of ‘aganomics’ – described as an ‘economic sub-discipline’ by Which? – sees people consider the efficiency of different types of Agas and fuels, including how they also negate the need for heating in a kitchen.
The figures for the running costs are based on an £9,720 electric Aga eR3 series cooker using 82kWh of energy a week when leaving both of its ovens on full temperature continuously – giving an annual total of 4,264kWh.
Others towards the top of the social ladder in the UK are having to consider the high energy bills brought about by hot tubs, which were a popular purchase at the start of the pandemic from locked-down Britons.
Experts at Uswitch analysed the Lay-Z-Spa Helsinki AirJet seven-person hot tub which costs £700. Usage of this for six hours a week would require an annual total of 624kWh – equivalent to £177 now, or £251 from October.
Another luxury fitting considered by Uswitch is underfloor heating, which has a power of 150W per square metre. Assuming a 10 square metre room, running for four hours a day, this would be an annual energy usage of 2,190kWh. Under the current energy cap this would be a cost of £621, but this would go up to £882 from October.
The figures are based on a 28p unit rate for electricity now, and then an estimated 42 per cent rise in the cost by October – taking average total household bills from £1,971 to £2,800, when there could be a unit rate of 40p.
The analysts from the price comparison website also looked at the cost of heating an outdoor swimming pool, and used the example of a 50W per square metre power for an 11m by 4m option with good thermal cover.
Assuming the heater runs for eight hours a day and the pool is kept warm for five months of the year, this would give an annual energy usage of 2,640kWh – and a cost of £748 a year now or £1,063 from October.
A further item considered was a Peloton exercise bike, for which the experts said comes with an electricity cost of 27p for a workout lasting one hour under the current price cap – but this would rise to 39p by October.
The Uswitch team also looked at an air conditioning unit, which would have an weekly cost for one hour a day of £5.39. A weekly cost of just over nine hours a day is £49 under the current cap, which would hit £69 in October.
Finally, they also looked at a home cinema system comprising of an £799 LG CineBeam HF65LSR projector, four Dolby Atmos speakers costing a total of £258 and a Dolby Atmos and DTS:X AV amplifier costing £2,199.
The experts then made a calculation for a two-hour film, saying this would currently cost 60p but rise to 85p by October. This was based on the system using 200W speakers, a 100W projector and a 750W amplifier.
An energy expert at Uswitch told MailOnline: ‘We’re all familiar with the rising price of heating our homes, but those who live in more luxurious settings may find that their lifestyle brings extra costs.
‘Keeping an outdoor swimming pool warm is a constant battle against the elements, and will cost about £5 a day in electricity during the summer months. Heat loss can be reduced by using a solar blanket to cover the pool, and the running costs of heat pumps work out cheaper than an electric heating system.
The Ofgem energy price cap has already gone up to an average of £1,971 a year – but could soar further to £2,800 in October
‘The costs of air conditioning can quickly add up, especially during hotter days when users turn on their system for nine hours a day on average – adding up to more than £48 a week at energy current prices.’
Energy bills have jumped by 54 per cent – an average of £693 – this year and they are set to increase a further £800, to an average of £2,800 per year, when energy regulator Ofgem raises the price cap again in October.
And the Uswitch expert added: ‘With Ofgem predicting that the price cap will rise to £2,800 in October, all of these high-end devices will become increasingly expensive to use.
‘When buying any new gadget or appliance, remember to consider not just the outright cost, but how much they will cost to run. Sometimes the most energy efficient devices are more expensive, but will save you money in the long run.’
Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a £21billion giveaway last month to help families with the cost of living, saying that every household will get £400 to help with energy bills – with the neediest getting as much as £1,500.
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