UK household cost research
Look Into: what things cost to buy, install and run in the UK
Dated UK prices and running costs, worked out at the current Ofgem cap. Every figure shows its source and its arithmetic.
Electricity 26.32p/kWh Ofgem cap, 1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026
Britain pays £308 a year before it switches anything on
The standing charge, gas and electricity combined, 1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026, mapped by region.
Changing now
What's moving your costs this month
January price cap
Ofgem announces it in late November. What we know so far, and what it would do to your bill.
No VAT on electricity until April
What the cut saves you this winter, and the cliff when it ends.
Black Friday is 27 November
Prices we are recording now, so you can tell a real cut from a fake one.
Free tool
What will it cost you to run?
Enter the watts from the label and how long you use it. The answer shows its working.
Cost per day
£1.58
- Per hour
- 52.6p
- Per week
- £11.05
- Per month (30.4 days)
- £47.99
2,000W × 3h = 6.00 kWh × 26.32p = 157.9p a day
Open the full calculator for thermostats, Economy 7 and smart-plug readings
Original research
Numbers you will not find on the box
0 of 35Best-selling electric heaters that state a running cost
None prices an hour of use, so we did: 1.1p to 65.8p an hour.
0 of 20Camping gas listings that state an energy content
The cheapest cartridge works out at 64p per kWh, 2.4 times mains electricity.
UK Running Cost Index
What everyday appliances cost to run at the current cap, rebuilt every time the cap changes.
Head to head
Which is cheaper to run?
Just published
Newest guides and research
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Best hygrometers UK 2026: the accuracy claims checkedChecked 28 Oct 2026 · desk research
Best radiator reflector panels UK 2026: the outside-wall catchChecked 28 Oct 2026 · desk research
Best electric toothbrush heads UK 2026Checked 28 Oct 2026 · desk research
Best router battery backup UK 2026: what each hour of backup costsChecked 28 Oct 2026 · desk research
Digital landline switchover 2027: what stops working, and what each fix costsChecked 28 Oct 2026 · desk research
Best adhesive hooks and hanging strips UK 2026Checked 27 Oct 2026 · desk research
Popular guides and tools
Running costs
What an appliance costs per hour, night or season at the current cap.
Install and upgrade costs
Heat pumps, solar, boilers, stairlifts and care, with grants and payback.
Buying guides, claims checked
What to buy, ranked by what it costs to own, with what we could not check.
This season
Black Friday: Friday 27 November
32 days to go
We are recording prices now, so you can see whether a sale price is a real cut.
Standing commitments
What updates next
- Ofgem announces the January cap. Every running-cost figure is rebased within 72 hours.
- Black Friday prices checked against the prices recorded in October.
- New cap takes effect. Old figures stay visible, dated, in each page's change log.
How to check any of this
We show the working
Every cost names its rate, its date and its source. If you can't redo the sum, we haven't done our job. Our method
We say what we could not check
Every buying guide ends with the limits of desk research. We do not test products and never claim to.
Who publishes it
Look Into is published by Whito Ltd, a UK company. Payment never buys a ranking. How we make money
How this site works. Look Into is desk research. We read makers' specifications, official rates and published prices, and we do the arithmetic. We do not test products, and a figure is only as good as the source we name for it. Prices and rates change, so check the date on any page before you rely on it. Nothing here is financial advice.