Author: James Longley
What is a kilowatt hour?
KwH
68K Businesses Helped
45% Potential Saving
£60m Yearly Customer Spend
If you want to save money on your energy bills, then it’s important to know how much electricity and gas you’re using, and how your energy provider bills you for this. This means it pays to understand what kilowatt hours (kWh) are, how many of them your appliances use and how much your supplier charges you for them. In this guide, we explore each of these topics to give you a greater understanding of how you’re charged for the power you consume.
What does kWh mean?
A kWh is equal to 1,000 watts of energy used over the course of an hour. Your electricity or gas provider uses this unit of energy to calculate how much they should charge you for the power your home or business consumes.
Different makes and models of appliances use varying levels of energy, but to give you a rough idea of how much energy a kWh represents, it may be approximately equivalent to boiling a kettle 10 times, or spending two days on your laptop.
You can be much more precise than this however. It is straightforward to work out how many kWhs specific electrical devices use. Most of the appliances you find in your home or workplace are rated in watts. This information should be provided on the product label. If you can’t find it there, check the owner’s manual. Once you have the energy rating in watts, convert it into kilowatts by dividing it by 1,000 and then multiply this figure by the number of hours you use the device for. For example, if a desktop computer has a power rating of 100 watts and you use it on average for eight hours a day, it will consume 0.8kWh of electricity per day.
How to read kWh on an electric bill
You will be able to find the number of kWh your property has consumed in your energy bills. This figure should be prominently displayed on each bill. Look out for it in the ‘usage’ section. Your electricity or gas supplier will clearly set out how many kWhs you have used and how much you are paying per kWh.
Seeing this information and understanding exactly what it relates to can be a good incentive to find ways to lower your energy usage and cut your gas and electricity bills. For example, you can see how your home or business energy use compares to the national average. If your consumption is greater than average, you may want to look for ways to save power. This could involve replacing old devices with more efficient models and/or changing the way you use your appliances. For instance, you could get into the habit of switching electricals off rather than leaving them on standby when you’re not using them.
How much does a kWh cost?
It’s common to ask ‘how much is a kWh?’, but there’s no set answer to this question. The amount you pay per kWh for gas and electricity will depend on a range of factors, including the type of energy plan you’re on, where you’re based, the payment method you use (for example, prepayment or credit) and – depending on your tariff – what time of the day or night you consumed the energy.
Because there’s no standard price for gas and electricity in the UK, the amount you pay per unit could vary significantly from your neighbour. However, it does pay to keep an eye on average prices. According to the Energy Saving Trust, the cost of electricity can be up to three times higher per kWh than gas. Currently, average electricity prices are around 15p per kWh, while gas is around 4p per kWh on average. As touched on previously though, what represents a good deal for you will depend on a host of different factors. This means it’s useful to look at what similar households or businesses are paying for their energy.
Should I consider switching?
One of the benefits of having a clear understanding of what a kWh is, how many of these units you’re using and what you’re being charged for them is that it makes it much easier to know if you’re getting a good deal from your energy supplier.
Because the UK has an open energy market, there are lots of options when it comes to electricity and gas tariffs, so it pays to shop around for the best deal. To save yourself time and effort, you can turn to an energy comparison and switching specialist such as Utility Bidder. We make it quick and simple to find competitive tariffs, and we can liaise with existing and new suppliers to take care of the switching process on your behalf.
Get the best prices and deals on your utilities
Immediate pricing access to almost all UK suppliers
Business Gas
Immediate pricing access to all major UK gas suppliers. We can save you upto 45% on your business gas prices.
Business Electricity
We manage to 20,000 electric meters for our commercial customers – So you’re in safe hands.
Business Energy
We’ll find the best prices and provide you with a hassle free service for both your business gas and electricity….
Business Water
With our help. You’ll get a better quality service, lower water bills and better value for money.
Case studies
We’re dedicated to helping businesses like yours save more on energy. That’s why we’ve put together a selection of case studies showcasing exactly what we have achieved for company’s similar to yours.
Thomson Hayes
2016
Year Joined
£2,000
Total Savings
Thomson Hayes retail has been established for 30 years and specialises in the design and manufacture of high quality furniture, exhibition stands, museum and store fit outs.
Cablecraft Limited
2017
Year Joined
£170,000
Total Savings
Utility Bidder saves thousands of pounds on energy expenditure for Midlands business. Cable craft have been supplying cable identification, termination and management products throughout the world for over 20 years servicing a diverse range of industries.
Sharda Care
2014
Year Joined
£20,000
Total Savings
Sharda Care are contacted frequently by companies within the energy industry, but the desire to work with UB Corporate was motivated by our bill validation service (and that they hadn’t checked their VAT). Our team have an experienced background in working with businesses of this size and will instinctively scrutinise all utilities to investigate potential savings.
Robert Jones
2019
Year Joined
£150
Total Savings
Rob says that thanks to the competitive rates secured by Utility Bidder in his studio, it would actually be cheaper to live there than at home! “We pay about £30 a month for gas during the winter and around £25 a month for electricity – and that’s despite having a lot of energy guzzling equipment such as studio lights and fan heaters. Our energy bills at home are far more expensive!”
HTC
2020
Year Joined
£14000
Total Savings
Founded in 2009, with a range of industry accolades to our name, Hayri recognised that Utility Bidder was a well-established and growing business and our five star Trustpilot reviews along with our size and longevity ensured HTC Europe had peace of mind.
“I was impressed with Utility Bidder from the start,” said Hayri. “Nothing was too much trouble for my account manager Rebecca Lau. Professionals recognise fellow professionals and it’s true that one doesn’t buy from a company, one buys from a person and Rebecca is a credit to Utility Bidder.
Compare business electricity rates and business gas prices
It only takes a couple of minutes to save £100's on your utility bills
