More economical than air conditioners, fans consume electricity. But with what impact on your bill? RMC Conso has done the calculation.
New heat wave in this weekend of June 28 and 29. The French equipped (almost half of the households) will probably start their fan to try to cool off a little. Those who have not yet invested will be able to find their happiness from around thirty euros.
But in addition to the purchase cost, fans also cause an overconsumption of electricity. If they run overnight, how much does it cost? RMC Conso looked into the issue and explains to you how to calculate the amount represented by your fan on your monthly bill.
When choosing your fan, several data allow you to have an average idea of its electrical consumption. You must first inquire about the type of fan chosen (on foot, in column, ceiling, without blades …), on its electrical power (expressed in watts) and its energy efficiency (announced in letter from A+, the most economical, to g).
It is all this data that will determine its electrical consumption. In terms of performance, RMC Conso has published an advice guide to choose the right model according to your needs.
To calculation formulas
According to different energy suppliers, the average power of this type of devices, depending on the model, varies between 50 and 200 watts. But a final data is missing to calculate the consumption of your fan: the price per kilo watt per hour of your electricity contract.
This data obviously varies according to the multiple electrical contracts available on the market. Asked about this point by RMC Conso, EDF evokes the impossibility of providing an exact data, as the variables between the prices offered by its contracts are different at the same times of the day. A similar problematic at other suppliers.
“There is no unique price of electricity. To know its electricity consumption, it is enough to look at your contract, whether signed with EDF or another supplier,” explains a spokesperson for the energy company.
If you want to calculate the consumption of your fan, you must therefore multiply the number of hours of use by the power of the device in Watts. Divide everything by 1,000 to convert the result to KWH. Then multiply the data obtained by the price per kilo watt per hour of electricity of his contract.
For example, for a classic column fan, with a power of 50W: if you use it 12 hours a day:
(50 x 12) / 1000 = 0.6 kWh / day
If you are at the regulated rate, you are currently paying € 0.2016/kWh as a base.
0.6 kWh x 0.2016 = 0.12 euros per day
In an entire month, with daily use of 12 hours a day, you will therefore pay:
0.12 x 31 = 3.72 euros per month
Refresh your accommodation at a lower cost
For its part, Ademe evokes a “minimal” difference from one contract to another. At most, the monthly cost, with use every night, will not exceed 5 euros. Or 10 euros on average for the months of July and August. And this, whatever the fan model.
“This is a modest sum which makes it possible to greatly improve its comfort and give the body of a drop in temperature of three degrees to the body,” said Ademe spokesperson for RMC Console Clément.
For air conditioning, the energy expenditure is on average 20 times higher.
According to the ecological transition agency, other subterfuges exist to cool off in summer. You have a fan to refresh your nights, also open the windows.
Because bringing fresh air to cool the walls, ceilings, floors that store heat all day. “The easiest housing to ventilate are those that open on two facades (crossing housing). If your house has several levels, open the windows below and at the top. This promotes the evacuation of hot air (‘chimney effect’)”, advises Ademe.
