Binge watching Tiger King, chatting to friends and family on Zoom and baking sourdough bread are costing more for some people than others, a study has shown.

Figures revealed by South West based energy switching specialists Flipper show that the cost of electricity for activities popular during lockdown is 34% higher for households on a standard tariff compared to those on the best deals available.

Mark Gutteridge, Managing Director of Flipper said: “Many of the things people have been doing during the lockdown use electricity so we should all expect a higher bill than usual. However, some people will be seeing a much bigger increase in the cost than others”.

“Energy prices have been falling” he continued, “so anyone who has switched recently is likely to be on one of the cheapest deals we have seen for years. While the millions of households still on a standard tariff could see the increase in usage cost them an extra £30 per month”.

The Flipper guide to the impact of lockdown on your energy bill revealed:

Longer showers (extra 10 mins a day Mon-Fri).

Standard Tariff*: £10.30             Cheapest Tariff^: £7.67

Cups of tea or coffee (extra 5 a day Mon-Fri)  

Standard Tariff*: £8.27 Cheapest Tariff^: £6.17

Extra dishes to wash (3 extra cycles per week)

Standard Tariff*: £4.96 Cheapest Tariff^: £3.70

Baking sourdough bread (twice a week)

Standard Tariff*: £4.91 Cheapest Tariff^: £3.66

Kids online-schooling/gaming (two hours per day) 

Standard Tariff*: £3.53 Cheapest Tariff^: £2.63

Working from home (8 hours laptop use Mon-Fri) 

Standard Tariff*: £2.94          Cheapest Tariff^: £2.19

Opening fridge (freezer more often for snacks)

Standard Tariff*: £1.64             Cheapest Tariff^: £0.56

Zoom meetings (10 hours per week)

Standard Tariff*: £0.55           Cheapest Tariff^: £0.19

Binge watching Netflix (8 x 1 hour episodes)

Standard Tariff*: £0.22             Cheapest Tariff^: £0.16

 [Data for a Bristol postcode, *Big 6 Supplier Standard Tariff, ^Avro Simple & Superfixed Tariff]

Said Mark Gutteridge: “And it’s not just this extra usage that will have cost 34% more, the entire bill for customers who haven’t switched in the past 12 months will be hundreds of pounds a year higher than they should be paying”.

Flipper find and switch their members to better energy deals throughout the year, checking the market every month to ensure they never overpay.

To sign up, simply go to www.flipper.com. The process takes 5 minutes and it’s free to register. Flipper charge a small annual fee of £30 when you are switched for the first time and start saving. Also, you only pay this once, no matter how many times you are switched during the year.

This small fee means Flipper can “flip” its members to more tariffs, more often to save them more money – as it doesn’t take any commission or referral fees from the energy suppliers like the comparison sites or other auto-switchers.