Pubs have been thriving since lockdown restrictions were lifted on April 12th, and outdoor heaters have been essential to keep punters flocking to the beer gardens.

Research from Uswitch reveals just how much these outdoor heaters could be adding to the energy bills in each UK city…

With the help of energy expert Sarah Broomfield, Uswitch has calculated that collectively pubs with beer gardens in cities across the UK could see energy bills soar to an average of at least £242,000 and produce an incredible 770,261kg of CO2e.

With almost an extra 3,000 outdoor spaces in London, the city hit first place in the study, with a total of £1,677,195.52 extra costs and 5,337,428kg CO2e from outdoor heaters over a month. This equates to heating a staggering 970 homes for an entire year.

Here is how other UK cities stacked up:

Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “The reopening of outdoor spaces for pubs has been a sigh of relief for many businesses up and down the country. However, with indoor seating still unavailable, our research has found that UK cities could rack up an average 770,261kg of CO2e from electric heaters in pub gardens, costing them an extra £242,041 in energy bills over the next month.

“Estimating that bars and pubs would need eight heaters in their outdoor areas to help prolong trading hours in the colder evenings means these venues are facing significantly higher bills.

“These costs highlight how important it is for us to continue to support businesses while they look towards fully-reopening.

“For now, customers can help to reduce the amount of time that the outdoor heaters need to be running for by dressing in plenty of layers, especially if they are going to be staying out late so that they can still enjoy themselves long into the night.”