A cold front is coming: Here’s how much more you’re spending to keep warm

A cold front is set to hit several parts of the country, leaving many of us in search of ways to keep warm. But doing so this year will cost you more than last year.

“It looks like it could snow again from Saturday afternoon over the mountains in the Western Cape and Northern Cape and later also in the Eastern Cape and over the southern Drakensberg,” Vox Weather said.

ALSO READ: Series of cold fronts expected to hit the country this weekend

Inflation has been at a stagnant range of between 5% to 6% over the last month but the price of staying warm this weekend and into the rest of winter is still high.

Here are a few popular ways to keep the cold at bay, and how much they cost in 2024.

An electric heater

An entry-level heater will cost you R299 at Game, while a pricier one, which comes with a safety tip over the switch feature, is R2 299 and will set you R 2000 back at the same retailer.

Last year the same heaters cost R210 and R1700.

A two-bar heater at Builders Warehouse costs R250, R50 more than last year. A 2800 W heater costs R1800, R400 more than 2023.

In April 2024, Eskom implemented its new electricity tariff of between 12.72% and 12.74%.

Purchasing an electric heater may not be the priciest option, but the amount of electricity it consumes will leave you with a much higher electricity bill.

ALSO READ: ‘Yes, it’s going up, but you can do something about it’ – Municipal tariff hikes kick in today

According to Eskom, using a 1000-watt heater for 1 hour daily for 30 days will use 30kWh and, at an average electricity cost of R1.67 per kWh, R50 per month.

A gas heater

While using gas heaters may be more cost-efficient in most cases, the price has increased over the last year.

In July 2023 Link Gas Distribution Centre charged R258 for a 9Kg gas cylinder. In July 2024, the same 9kg cylinder cost R299. That is a R41 or 15.9% increase.

Similarly, a 9kg cylinder at Hermanus gas cost R278 in 2023 and R327 in 2024, a R51 increase.

A blanket

On Takealot, there’s been at least a 13% increase in the price of blankets. The 1-ply fleece blanket costs R499, R60 more than last year.

At Makro, a winter fleece blanket is R169, and was R149 in 2023.

A hot shower or bath

Craig Berman from Saving Energy says for an average household the geyser accounts for around 40% to 60% of the total electricity used in a month

A single five-minute shower can use 100 litres of water, 40 litres of this being hot water.

Four people having a 5-minute shower twice a day would use 800 litres of water and 320 litres of hot water.

ALSO READ: ‘Quick is best’: Your long showers could be costing you thousands – study reveals

A recent study by LookSee reveals that taking one shower a day could add up to R808 per month to your utility bill.

Based on the City of Johannesburg’s current R2.80 per kWh electricity and R34.28 per kiloliter (kL) water tariffs, the research found households spend as much as R8 160 on showers per person annually.