£50,000-A-YEAR ENERGY BILL FOR SIR ELTON JOHN’S £6 MILLION MANSION IS SECOND ONLY TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE IN CELEBRITY POWER COST CHARTS
Sir Elton John’s £6 million Windsor mansion is estimated to cost almost £50,000 a year in heating and electricity — including £5,000 to run his pool[1]
Rocketman star’s 3,000-square-metre house is 33 times larger than the average UK home[2], and his energy bill is 43 times bigger than most households’[3]
Robbie Williams’ £18 million London pad has the next biggest celeb energy bill at £33,000[4], followed by Jamie Oliver’s £32,000 for his £6 million country seat[5]
Swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms and even recording studios and pubs add thousands to the electricity bills of celebrity homes
All the celebrity homes are dwarfed by Buckingham Palace, which is estimated to cost £1.1 million a year in energy bills — including £28,000 for 40,000 lights[6]
Uswitch.com offers celebrities — and regular households — tips on how to reduce their energy costs.
Sir Elton John’s £6 million Woodside mansion is estimated to cost £49,139 a year in energy bills[1] — with his 3,000-square-metre property putting him second only to the Queen when it comes to celebrity gas and electricity spending[6], according to Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service.
The Rocket Man singer’s energy costs are one-and-a-half times the national average income[7], and more than 43 times the average household’s bill of £1,125 a year[3] — which isn’t surprising since his 3,000 sq m home is 33 times the size of the average 90.18 sq m UK house[2].
Sir Elton could potentially save a staggering £13,744 a year if he moved from a standard variable tariff to one of the best fixed deals currently on the market[8].
Former Take That singer Robbie Williams’ ten-bedroom home in Holland Park, London, has the next biggest celebrity bill, costing an estimated £33,133 in gas and electricity. Adding to his power costs are a gym, home cinema, 22 bathrooms and a swimming pool[4]. Naked Chef Jamie Oliver’s impressive Spains Hall home in Essex costs an estimated £32,875 a year in power bills, with the Aga adding to his expenses[5].
Other notable celebrity homes include Ed Sheeran’s collection of properties in Suffolk dubbed ‘Sheeranville’. A swimming pool, a pub and a recording studio all go towards making his energy bill an estimated £21,418[9].
The Beckhams’ £5 million Cotswolds home is modest by comparison to many of the others at a mere 770 sq m, and only costing an estimated £11,395 a year in energy bills[10].
However, the celebs’ bills are dwarfed by the costs of running 77,000 sq m Buckingham Palace, with the gas and electricity bill estimated to be £1,127,942. The energy costs are inflated by an estimated £28,663 bill to run more than 40,000 light bulbs[6].
Uswitch.com is offering celebrities — and people in more modest households — some tips and tricks to cut their energy bills, including recommending turning down your thermostat by 1oC (which can save regular households up to £80 a year), and unplugging appliances that you aren’t using, in its guide to reducing your power costs.
Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “If you’ve ever opened your energy bill and had a shock then spare a thought for poor Sir Elton.
“Thankfully, most of these celebrities don’t have to worry about paying the bills, but celebrity or not, there’s always a benefit to keeping down the amount of energy you use.
“Sometimes it can be as simple as closing windows, turning off lights when you leave the room, and turning down the thermostat, but for Sir Elton it might be a question of turning down the temperature of his swimming pool.
“Switching tariffs is another great way to keep those utility bills down. If you’re on a standard variable tariff, you can save up to £479 a year by switching, so do a search online and compare what deals are out there.”
Find out how you could save nearly £1,000 a year with Uswitch here.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Ross Stebbing
Phone: 07827 836 709
Email: ross.stebbing@rvu.co.uk
Twitter: @UswitchPR
Notes to editors:
1. Sir Elton John’s Woodside mansion. Wikipedia. Architectural Digest. Ovo Energy estimates 200kWh per m2 for an old house, 150kWh per m2 for a modern house, and 100kWh per m2 for a new house. Average price of gas according to the Energy Saving Trust is 4.17p/kWh. Calculation: 3,008m2 x 200kWh/m2 x 0.0417 = £25,087. Cost of running a swimming pool estimated at £5,000 a year. Average UK electricity bill is £563. Average UK house is 90.18m2. £563 / 90.18m2 = £6.24 per m2. £6.24 x 3,008m2 = £18,779. Gas standing charge = £164 / year. Electricity standing charge = £118 / year. Total energy cost = £25,087 + £18,779 + £5,000 + £164 + £118 = £49,139.
2. ONS: House price per square metre and house price per room, England and Wales: 2004 to 2016
3. Ofgem: Bills, prices and profits, June 2020.
4. Robbie Williams. Daily Mail. Calculation: 2,229m2 x 150kWh/m2 x 0.0417 = £13,942. Cost of running a swimming pool estimated at £5,000 a year. Total energy cost = £13,942 + £5,000 + £13,909 + £164 + £118 = £33,133.
5. Jamie Oliver. Hello! Calculation: 1,839m2 x 200kWh/m2 x 0.0417 = £15,337. Cost of running a swimming pool estimated at £5,000 a year. Total energy cost = £15,337 + £5,000 + £780 for Aga + £11,475 + £164 + £118 = £32,875.
6. The Queen. Evening Standard. Calculation: 77,000m2 x 200kWh/m2 x 0.0417 = £642,180. Cost of running a swimming pool estimated at £5,000 a year. 40,000 15W light bulbs on for eight hours a day on average = 40,000 x 0.015kW x 8 x 365 = £28,663. Total energy cost = £642,180 + £5,000 + £480,480 + £164 + £118 = £1,127,942.
7. ONS: Employee earnings in the UK. Median weekly earnings for full-time employees are £585. £49,139 / £585 x 52 = 162%.
8. Average SVT = £1,125 a year. Best priced fixed deal (correct as of 23/07/20 is £810.34 from Avro Energy. £810.34/£1,125 = 72%. 72% of £49,139 = £35,394. £49,139 - £35,394 = £13,744.
9. Ed Sheeran. The Sun. Calculation: 1,260m2 x 150kWh/m2 x 0.0417 = £7,881. Cost of running a swimming pool estimated at £5,000 a year. Total energy cost = £13,942 + £5,000 + £392 for recording studio + £7,862 + £164 + £118 = £21,418.
10. David and Victoria Beckham. Hello! Calculation: 769m2 x 150kWh/m2 x 0.0417 = £4,810. Cost of running a plunge pool estimated at £365 a year. Total energy cost = £4,810 + £365 + £780 (Aga) + £179.14 (Sauna) + £179.14 (steam room) + £4,799 + £164 + £118 = £11,395.
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