‘Parent tax’ hitting households with additional £205 to vitality payments this summer season

Aug 09, 2023 at 5:57 AM

Families are being unfairly hit with a “parent tax” this summer season resulting from a rise in energy bills, professional have warned.

Energy-saving app Loop is sounding the alarm that oldsters will see an uptick in family vitality consumption as their youngsters spend extra time at house because of the finish of the varsity time period.

Over the course of the summer season, households ought to anticipate to pay an additional £205 on this “parent tax”.

This comes as households have needed to cope with skyrocketing vitality payments over the previous yr, in addition to modifications to the vitality worth cap.

Despite it being summer season, energy experts are highlighting that oldsters will seemingly pay extra in gas and electricity costs than they in any other case would have anticipated.

Here is a breakdown of the price of vitality whereas finishing up sure actions this summer season, in line with Loop.

Activity	Cost of vitality used over the summer season holidays (six weeks)
Air conditioner (1000w) for eight hours a day	£72.00
Garden heater (2000w) for 3 hours a day	£54.00
Drinks fridge (145w) for twenty-four hours a day	£31.32
Hoover (1400w) for one hour a day	£12.60
PlayStation (200w) for six.5 hours a day	£11.70
Dishwasher (1500w) for an additional one hour cycle a day	£9.36
PC (140w) for six.5 hours a day	£8.19
TV (120w) for six.5 hours a day	£7.02
Xbox (120w) for six.5 hours a day	£7.02
Cooking additional meals (800w) for half-hour a day	£3.60
Tower fan (35w) for eight hours a day	£2.52
Charging a Nintendo Switch (39w) for 3 hours a day	£0.42
Charging an Amazon Fire (15w) for 4 hours a day	£0.22
Charging a cell phone (5w) for 2 hours a day	£0.09
TOTAL for six weeks of summer season holidays	£213.04

Steve Buckley, the top of Data Science, emphasised that staying at house this summer season may hike a household’s weekly vitality invoice by £34.

He shared: “Despite the price cap falling at the start of July, energy prices remain high. As a result, we encourage households to stay on top of their energy usage, especially with the children at home for the six weeks of summer.

“We know that staying at home with the kids doesn’t come without its costs. Most families don’t realise that the cost of staying at home this summer could add £34 to household bills per week.

“Add to that the running of essential electrical items, alongside home entertainment and gaming systems, households can expect to pay an extra £205 in ‘parent tax’ over the course of the summer.”

Overall, the costliest objects to run this summer season would increase a family vitality invoice by £157, which incorporates air-con models, backyard heaters, and further drink fridges.

According to Dr Buckley, mother and father ought to flip off their home equipment that are left on standby, and use cooling units effectively.

With the hotter climate, he recommends households dry their garments outdoors as a substitute of utilizing a pricey dryer.

Finally, the vitality professional highlighted that getting the entire household concerned in energy-saving generally is a enjoyable exercise with Loop’s app serving to individuals minimize their electrical energy consumption by 16 p.c.