Site Prices Update
Last Updated28th June 2022
All calculations on this site are based on current fuel prices, they are checked regularly and calculations are automatically updated.
The costs calculated based on these fuel prices should be regarded as 'good estimates', given that fuel prices vary in different parts of the county and at different time of the year.
The calculations also have different levels of accuracy depending on the nature of the calculation. For example calculating the energy use of a known power output TV is very easy compared to calculating the effect on energy savings when insulating a cavity wall.
Site Calculations
Set Your Own Prices
User PricesFor several of the fuel prices on this site you can now set your own prices and all the calculations on the site will adjust accordingly.
Set Prices
At Confused About Energy we aim to provide practical, impartial advice on all aspects of energy usage, climate change and ways to save money on energy bills.
All calculations on this site are based on current fuel prices they are checked regularly are automatically updated and were last changed on:-
28th June 2022
The costs calculated based on these fuel prices should be regarded as 'good estimates', given that fuel prices vary in different parts of the county and at different time of the year.
The calculations also have different levels of accuracy depending on the nature of the calculation. For example calculating the energy use of a known power output TV is very easy compared to calculating the effect on energy savings when insulating a cavity wall.
Site Calculations
Electricity | £0.271 per unit (1 kWh) |
Economy Electricity | £0.094 per unit (1 kWh) |
Gas | £0.072 per unit (1 kWh) |
Domestic LPG | £0.122 per unit (1 kWh) |
Heating Oil | £0.104 per unit (1 kWh) |
UK Grid CO2 Emissions | 0.233 kg per kWh used |
The main units used in this site are in the table below, For a complete explanation of power and energy Read More.
Unit | Name | Detail |
---|---|---|
W | Watt | Unit of Power |
kW | Kilowatt | 1000 watts |
kWh | Kilowatt hour | Measure of Energy |
L | Litre | Measure of Volume |
Sometimes these numbers seem to be meaningless, they are so large, we cannot get our minds round them, 18Gt (18,000,000,000 tonnes) how bid is that? and these are not your soft American short tons, these are proper metric tonnes! To provide some perspective we have related this weight to the weight of the great pyramid at Giza, a rough estimate for the weight of the great pyramid at giza is 6 million tonnes. Using this number 18Gt of CO2 weighs the same as about 3000 Great Pyramids (18000Mt÷6Mt). So we need to remove about 8.2 Great Pyramid weights each day, that is quite a lot, but a least we know where we stand.
Some Key Points
- Carbon Dioxide Emissions derived from human activity on the planet closely follow the use of fossil fuels.
- Observation of the historic data implies that the planet can reabsorb up to 18Gt of our CO2 emissions annually.
- We are emitting about 35Gt a year, the excess is adding about 24ppm CO2 to our atmosphere each decade and increasing temperature by about 0.6oC each decade.
- Much more CO2 is emitted naturally, but it is important to understand that our emissions tip the balence and that they cannot be absorbed rapidly enough by the planet and so accumulate in the atmosphere.
- Read more on Atmospheric CO2 Concentration
References
http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/overview.php?v=CO2andGHG1970-2016https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html
https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions
http://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/pns/convert.html#3
Notes
The carbon emissions here reflect only those used in the power industry (power and heat generation plants), other industrial combustion (combustion for industrial manufacturing and fuel), non-combustion (industrial process emissions & agriculture & waste), buildings (non-industrial stationary combustion) and transport (road & rail & ship & aviation).
Figure 2.1 Shows the Carbon Dioxide emissions from these activities, and Figure 2.2 shows the CO2e (the carbon dioxide equivalent effect) of the two other main Greenhouse gasses Methane and Nitrous Oxide, They are substantial components but are not on the scale of CO2 and are not rising as rapidly.
The correlation between global temperature deviation and the concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere is inescapable, and the correlation between man made emissions of CO2 and atmospheric CO2 is equally apparent.
Currently the planet is having to absorb more CO2 than it should on the land and in the oceans with some deleterious consequences (e.g. Ocean acidifications). Looking at the data for 1970, global temperature deviation is 0oC, human activity CO2 emissions are 15.8Gt, atmospheric CO2 levels are 325ppm and somewhere between 325ppm and 350ppm, the temperature slowly increases.
Emissions from fossil sources could be reduced if for example carbon capture technology were added to our power stations or major industrial complexes, but this costs money.
If the problem was at a national level, national taxation could be used as a tool to discourage emissions and to look for alternatives and carbon capture, but international agreement is tricky since energy costs directly relate to the industrial competitiveness of a nation. International agreement is essential to tackle the issues of CO2 emissions.
Read more on Atmospheric CO2 Concentration
Electricity Cost Calculator
Read More
Why is global warming measured from the average temperature between 1951 and 1980, this is a direct quote from the NASA website:- "The period of 1951-1980 was chosen largely because the U.S. National Weather Service uses a three-decade period to define “normal” or average temperature. The GISS temperature analysis effort began around 1980, so the most recent 30 years was 1951-1980. It is also a period when many of today’s adults grew up, so it is a common reference that many people can remember." So now we know, it is fairly arbitrary, but we do need a reference and it was a fairly stable period, so it makes sence.