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.
Ocean pH 5075
Some Key Points
- The ocean absorbs about a quarter of the CO2 we release into the atmosphere every year.
- the CO2 absorbed by the ocean changes the chemistry of the seawater, the process is called ocean acidification.
- The change in the ocean has a negative impact on sea life especially coral, shellfish and plankton.
- Ocean pH (acidity/alkalinity) is very difficult to measure, it varies across the ocean, measurement since 1990 has greatly improved
References
https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/Ocean+Acidificationhttps://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/OA+Observations+and+Data
http://hahana.soest.hawaii.edu/hot/products/HOT_surface_CO2.txt
https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/Quality+of+pH+Measurements+in+the+NODC+Data+Archives
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/web/home/about/news/150203-Ocean-Acid.html
Notes
The ocean absorbs about a quarter of the CO2 we release into the atmosphere every year, so as atmospheric CO2 levels increase, so do the levels in the ocean. It may seem great that the ocean is taking up the CO2 and reducing global warming but the change in ocean chemistry has a profound effect on sea life.
In order to measure changes due to ocean acidification very small pH changes in the global oceans need to be measured. This has only really been possible with new techniques over the past 30 years. The data we show is the longest running data series we can find which has been consistently measured and according to the scientists involved will continue to be measured for a least the next 5 years. The data is collected near Hawaii and the source of the data is in the reference links.
Reference to Figure 11.1 shows how pH correlates with atmospheric CO2.
Figure 11.1 - pH correlation with atmospheric CO2
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.