The 4p/hour electric blanket I'm obsessed with is the perfect practical and pretty Christmas gift

Louise's Black Friday electric blanket on bed grey

(Image credit: Future / Louise Oliphant)

last updated 16 December 2022

If you've yet to get an electric blanket, what have you been doing? Temperatures are getting a little too chilly, and let's face it, a typical throw blanket just isn't going to cut it. We know turning up your heating as high as you'd like isn't an option either. So, if you're trying to keep your energy bills down without feeling like an icicle, an electric blanket will be your new BFF.

Take it from me: I've been busy testing out and trying some of the best electric blankets out there. Rather than turning up the heat, I've been curling up in one of these at night to cut down on costs. Happy days (and nights)! My favourite one? The Cosi Home electric heated throw. It only costs 4 pence per hour to use. Over an eight-hour snooze, that's just 32 pence per night, which we can bet is a lot cheaper than it would cost to keep your heating on.

Christmas may be over, but you can still treat yourself or a loved one to this electric blanket for the winter. It's made from super-soft fleece and available in lots of great colours. Under-the-sheet electric blankets aren't the prettiest, but one like this is perfect for leaving out and draping over your bed.

Everything you need to know about the Cosi Home electric blanket

Size: L160cm x W130cm
Material: Fleece
Settings: 9 temperatures
Cost to run: 4p per hour
Machine washable? Yes, under 40°C
Timer? Yes, 1–9 hours
Colours: 4
Power: 230 V, 50 Hz

Best electric blanket on bed cream bedding and grey

I'm a night owl, which often means I'm pottering around getting my chores done late before I go to sleep. This gives me the perfect opportunity to pre-heat my bed in the meantime. I use the timer function to turn my electric blanket on to a medium setting in an hour's time, just as I'm about to fold my laundry, iron my clothes for the next day, or prepare my lunch for work. This way, when I pull back my sheets, my bed is nice and toasty for me, and I find that this helps me drift off to sleep faster. It also keeps my housemates happy that I'm not switching the heating on.

How much does it cost to use the Cosi home heated blanket?

We're in the coldest months of the year, so the urge to turn up your heating might be strong. Finding ways to keep our homes (and toes) toasty at night without overspending means we might have to get a little tactical. Well, an electric blanket can be somewhat of a solution. So far, I can confirm it's keeping me at just the right temperature throughout the night.

Having spoken to some experts, I've found that we can save 7% in energy with every degree lower we set our thermostat. But there are other energy-saving products out there, too, that won't need to be plugged in, like the best duvet for winter (which I would also strongly advise investing in this year).

It's helpful to find out how much a blanket would cost to run in comparison. To calculate the cost of the Cosi home electric blanket with an approximate power of 120 W, you need to convert to Kw and multiply by the pence/kWh unit.

In the UK, this would be: 0.12*0.34 = £0.04, meaning that running the Cosi home electric blanket in October 2022 for one hour would cost just 4p per hour or 32p a night and 1.78 cents or 14 cents per night in the US, based on an electricity rate of 14.80 cents per kWh.

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Louise is the Ecommerce Editor at Real Homes, specialising in sleep content so you can wind-down well. With prior PR experience working for a luxury bedding brand, Louise knows the importance of getting a great night’s sleep. Joining the other side of the desk as a full-time journo, Louise brings her bedding expertise to writing sleep buying guides, reviews, and news for Real Homes. Aside from helping readers get essential shut eye, Louise also writes shopping content for homeware items that’ll add a decorative edge to your space. With an eye for design that won’t snooze on style, but a budget that won’t quite stretch, Louise loves nothing more than a modern designer dupe. From coloured glassware to contemporary storage, anything to upgrade the bare space of her rented East London flat.