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
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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 |
Please use twitter to ask a question Message @@EnergyThinking

Many consider that electric cars produce no CO2. Well in operation this is true they do not, however when they are charged they take electrical energy from the electrical power grid which has in turn been generated by fossil fuels. The upshot is that using an electric car will also produce CO2, but according to the calculations below it is about half that of a car powered by internal combustion and in the UK it could cost 3 times less than petrol! This is great, but the technology infrastructure for electric cars is only just getting there.
Taking a fairly small and efficient car, petrol (gasoline) or electric, it will require about 0.13 kWh of energy from the power source to drive it 1km at a reasonable speed.
Internal car efficiency | Source energy required per km | Volume / Amount of fuel source required per km | Price per km | CO2/km | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Petrol | 20 % | 0.65 kWh | 0.07 l/km | 12.5 pence/km | 0.155 kg/km |
losses mostly in the internal combustion process and in engine idle | Accounts for 80% internal losses | There are 9.67 kWh of energy in a litre of Petrol (Gasoline) | Based on £1.86 per litre | On full combustion 1 litre will produce 2.3018 kg of CO2 | |
Electric | 80 % | 0.16 kWh | 0.16 kWh (grid) | 4.4 pence/km | 0.038 kg/km |
Losses mostly in the charge and discharge cycles of the battery some quote 83% | Accounts for 20% internal losses | Grid electrical energy | Based on an average grid price of 0.271 pence per kWh | The UK national grid emits 0.233 kg of CO2 per kWh supplied, in 2022 |
The electric car at worst should produce quarter as much CO2 as the petrol car. And with increases in renewable energy and the use of nuclear for grid supply this will reduce further. Interestingly the price per km indicates considerable scope to increase the cost of grid supply electricity for cars, which could in theory pay for the increased cost of renewable energy supply, or perhaps this cost advantage will be swallowed up in the cost of replacing batteries.
The paper in the link below is very good and seems to me to be accurate, but misses out any consideration for the costs of replacement batteries.
www.stanford.edu/group/greendorm/participate/cee124/TeslaReading.pdf
World Climate Change Metrics
(2021)
↑
Annual
+11353 TWh↑
Decade
2040 149000 TWh to 171000 TWh
(2021)
↑
Annual
+2.6 Gt↑
Decade
2040 36 Gt to 46 Gt
(2021)
↑
Annual
+835 million↑
Decade
2040 8.45 billion to 9.5 billion
(2021)
10+Gt CO2
↑
Annual
+1168 TWh↑
Decade
2040 10000 TWh to 13000 TWh
(2021)
↑
Annual
+24 ppm↑
Decade
2040 450 ppm to 500 ppm
(2022)
↑
Annual
+0.26°C↑
Decade
2040 1.5°C to 2.5°C
(2020)
–
Annual
+46.5 mm↑
Decade
2040 150 mm to 200 mm
(2020)
↓
Annual
0.95 million km2↓
Decade
to 2 million km2
2040 2 million km2
to 0 million km2
(2020)
↓
Annual
-1600 Gt↓
Decade
2040 -7000 Gt to -10000 Gt
(2020)
↓
Annual
-2500 Gt↓
Decade
2040 -7000 Gt to -10000 Gt
Each Decade
↓
Decade
(2019)
↑
Annual
+2169 TWh↑
Decade
2040 9000 TWh to 12000 TWh
(2018)
↑
Annual
0.96 Gt↑
Decade
2040 5.4 Gt to 7.2 Gt
≅4.6 GtCO2 emissions prevented
Example 50% gas power generation substituted with renewables
≅2 GtCO2 emissions prevented
≅3.7 GtCO2 emissions prevented
Example 50% gas power generation with CCS
≅1.6 GtCO2 emissions prevented
(2017)
↑
Annual
543 TWh↑
Decade
2040 1250 TWh to 2200 TWh
(2015)
↓
Annual
0.336 million km2↓
Decade
to 39.7 million km2
2040 39 million km2
to 39.5 million km2
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