Households who iron their clothes face £20.40 charges from July 1 | Personal Finance | Finance

Under the incoming price cap, ironing could cost some households in the UK around £20 over 12 months, according to calculations by The Express. Last month, Ofgem announced that the energy price cap would increase by 13% for the period from Monday, July 1 to September 30, 2026.

The cap refers to the default tariff applied when a customer isn’t on a fixed-rate tariff. Set by the regulator, it establishes a maximum rate per unit and a standing charge that can be billed to customers for their energy use (both electricity and gas). Ofgem said the increase is a “result of higher wholesale gas prices, caused by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East“.

Fuel and other costs skyrocketed in the wake of the US and Israel‘s late February strikes on Iran, with tensions continuing to simmer in the region. The rise in the cap is largely made up by the surging price of gas, but electricity has risen by around 5% too.

From July 1, people in England, Wales, and Scotland on a standard variable tariff, and who pay for their electricity via Direct Debit, will pay 26.11p per kilowatt hour (kWh) on average, significantly higher than the current April price cap (24.67p per kWh).

It means you may have higher electricity bills next month, and many Britons will be looking into the costs of individual appliances to work out where savings can be made.

Irons are an appliance you may not think of as contributing to your overall living costs, and while they aren’t a major electricity guzzler, they do add to your costs over time with regular use.

Citizens Advice’s energy cost calculator lets you choose from a selection of appliances and calculate their costs over time by entering usage and the price cap you’re using.

The organisation uses a default figure for the amount of electricity each appliance type consumes when in use, though in practice this will clearly vary between models.

If we take the example of a household using their iron once a week for an hour (perhaps on a regular Sunday laundry day), that works out to around 37p per week, and £1.61 per month (£19.32 when the cost is projected over 12 months).

Under the July cap, that level of usage would rise to around 39p per week, and £1.70 per month (around £20.40 if the cost is projected over 12 months).

However, the costs will obviously vary depending on use, and while the estimate gives you an illustrative sense of the costs, the cap represents the maximum limit on unit rates and standard charges over a longer period.

The maximum limit on unit rates and standard charges is reviewed by the regulator every three months and doesn’t remain in place for a full year.

You also have to take into account the daily standing charge for electricity when calculating your overall electricity costs. The flat fee, covering all the electricity you’re using, will decrease slightly to 57.19p per day from July 1.

Households can protect themselves from price cap hikes by getting on a fixed-rate deal that can shield them from global shocks over a set period.