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 |
Shower or Power Shower 145786
Hot Water
Please use twitter to ask a question Message @@EnergyThinking
The running costs of seven different types of shower are compared here.
Money Savings range you could have employing this measure.
Carbon Dioxide emission range that could be saved with this measure.
How much does it cost to have a shower?
Power showers can be expensive; depending on how the water is heated for the shower. What you may not appreciate is the amount different types of shower will cost you to run. The table below shows seven types.
| Type of shower | Cost of 10 minute shower (Carbon Dioxide Emissions) |
Cost of a shower a day for a year (Carbon Dioxide Emissions) |
Flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric shower 8.5 kW | £0.385 (0.3kg) |
£140.556 (120.8kg) |
Low |
| Electric shower 10.5 kW | £0.474 (0.4kg) |
£173.22 (148.9kg) |
Low |
| Low flow shower gas heated water in cylinder | £0.191 (0.4kg) |
£69.878 (142.7kg) |
Low |
| Low flow shower electric heated (immersion) water in cylinder | £0.72 (0.4kg) |
£263.011 (158.3kg) |
Low |
| Power shower using gas heated stored water | £0.458 (0.9kg) |
£167.18 (341.3kg) |
High |
| Power shower using electric immersion heater | £1.723 (1kg) |
£629.247 (378.7kg) |
High |
| Combi boiler power shower 30kW | £0.4 (1.1kg) |
£146.1 (383.5kg) |
High |
What may surprise you is that power showers which use gas to heat the water cost about the same as a high powered electric shower to operate, the high power electric shower however will be less forceful. The “same cost, more force” aspect is simply due the lower cost of Gas per kWh.
As an observation, it may in spite of this, be sensible to have an electric shower in case the gas boiler fails. It will also use less water, if that is a concern where you live.
The very cheapest option is just to use a mixer valve off the gravity fed water from a hot water cylinder, where a gas boiler has been used to heat the water, this is only strictly true if you use the full cylinder of hot water over a day or so, otherwise the heat is simply lost to the house. Lag your cylinder well
The key tip here is do not use an electric immersion heater to heat water it costs a fortune!
The tips here are based only on running cost however it is worth noting that if you are deciding whether to install, for example an electric shower instead of using immersion heated water, it will take you 8 to 12 years to pay back the investment, by which time the shower will have broken and you will be onto a second one! Mind you installing a replacement will be much cheaper, since the initial costs include all the wiring and labour.
Please note that the calculations in the above table include an efficiency factor for heat losses in hot water cylinders.
Hi
In theory the shower costs nothing if all the energy is provided by the solar panels. But was all the PV electricity spare, and do you sell back to the grid on a feed in tariff scheme?
Cheers
Richard
how much for gravity shower if emersion is powered by an iboost from solar panels?
Hi
In theory the shower costs nothing if all the energy is provided by the solar panels. But was all the PV electricity spare, and do you sell back to the grid on a feed in tariff scheme?
Cheers
Richard
Hi please can you help?wehave a electric showered keep the blue light on even when not in use, we been told this doesn't use much electric,is this true
Kind regards
Karen
Yes this is correct. Power is only consumed when water flows.
Hello,
Could you tell me which would be cheaper to run, please - an electric shower, or a shower using water heated by a LPG modern combi boiler? I realise that an exact comparison would be difficult, but a general indication would be really helpful - I haven't been able to find an answer anywhere!
Kind regards, john
I wonder whether anyone has looked into how an electric shower compares with a power shower if both are operated with a 3.84Kwh solar PV panel system
You stated: "this is only completely true if you use the full cylinder of hot water over a day or so, otherwise the heat is simply lost to the house." Are you aware of any technology that can reclaim back that energy which is stored as excess heat in the cylinder but not needed for bathing or laundrey? I'm looking at ways of making householders aware of this form of wasted energy. Any ideas? Keep up the good work. Les C
Hi Les It is very difficult to recover low levels of heat. Transferring the heat should be possible with losses. I worked a bit with this company 10 years ago, their heat transfer pipes certainly work, but are probably expensive. http://www.thermacore.co.uk. The ideal I guess is to transfer low level heat to electricity, I found this which may offer a route in the future http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2011/May/03051103.asp Tell me if you find anything, I'd be interested. Cheers Richard
The advantage of a well designed or set up power shower (gas heated or indirect tank heated), is that the actual volume of water, thus usage/heating requirements can be quite low by using only needle jets (fine spray), however the high pressure compensates by wetting and massaging you just as much. My (cheap) shower rose has both needle and normal jets but with a good pump, the feel is still better than large jets and / or gravity fed, thus costs can be kept low or lower than gravity fed and the feel good factor is higher. Experimenting by plugging the shower tray drain. the factor difference of water consumption is about 8 to 1per minute...quite a saving. The only down side is needle jets calcify quickly, so a caustic head clean is required more often.Have a play!!!
Comments and Questions