Electric Heating

Obviously this depends on the property you live in but you can expect it to cost signifcantly less than that of a traditional gas central heating system.

Basic electric heaters cost from as little as £20 each and the really up to date modern day storage heaters around £400. You’ll need some form of heating in every room but you can tailor the set up to your needs, requirements and budget. 

Installation costs are lower too – electric heaters are quick and easy to install and, unlike other forms of heating, there aren’t any pipes or flues to connect – this all helps keep the cost down.

Electric Storage Heaters

These are probably the most common type of electric heating and one of the most efficient because they can use cheaper rate electricity at non-peak times of the day to generate heat which is then stored up and used to heat your home when you need it.

Electric Boilers

This works on teh same principle as a gas “combi-boiler” or a kettle whereby you’re using electricty to heat water that is then circulated to provide the heat to radiators, under-floor heating or for hot water.

Most systems incorporate a lage hot wayter cylinder tank to store hot water so that you can utilise cheaper electricity off-peak rates and store the heat for when you need it. Helps keep costs down!

Direct Electric Heaters

Direct electric heaters or secondary heaters, are simply any other form of stand-alone heaters that support a main system – this could be such things as:

• panel heaters
• infra-red heaters
• electric towel rails
• wall-mounted electric radiators

These things are always going to be more expensive to use but can be useful if you need short term targetted heat for any reason – ie a small room that’s not used very often.

Electric Underfloor Heating

Electric underfloor heating works by utilising very fine heating wire under your floor covering which uses electricity to generate heat which rises up through the floor to reach a regulated temperature,

It can be used anywher but tend to be mainly used in bathrooms or shower rooms for occasional use.

Electric heating may be cheaper to install and easier to match up with your budget but it can be very expensive to run – typically significantly more than most other forms of heating.

If you currently run or ore considering electric heating then make sure your property in well insulated and that the system can tap into off peak cheaper tariffs in order to keep running costs down as much as possible.

If you live in a small, well insulated property, it’s not going to make too much difference but if you don’t you’ll no doubt understand how much an electric heating system costs to run and how much more expensive it is compared to other forms of heating.

That said, you’ll also recognise how clean and environmentally friendly an electric heating system is compared to that of a fossil fuel system.

If clean energy is important and budget permits you should perhaps consider a heat pump which will save you money (grants may be available). But if budget does not permit then at least you should look at upgrading to more modern and efficient heaters (grants may also be available).

There may be certain Governments grants that are available towards the cost of electric heating or with the upgrade of existing heaters to modern, efficient electric storage heaters.

Visit our section on Energy Efficiency Grants for specific information.