The cost per Btu of heat for electric heat is generally more than double the cost per Btu for natural gas, especially with gas rates as low as they've been in recent years. It can be 3 to 5 times more than natural gas in some areas.
Electric space heaters provide heat quickly, and because they run on household electricity, you never have to buy fuel for them. You don't get this kind of convenience for free, however, and you'll notice a hefty hike in your monthly electricity bill if you use one regularly.
Overall, for heating the same space, an electric heater costs more than twice as much as using central heating. However, electric radiators can be more cost effective if you're heating a small area of your house like one or two rooms.
Even though they are typically small in size, and often touted as 100% efficient, electric space heaters use a lot of electricity. Most space heaters use on average 1,500 Watts of electricity and cost about 15¢ an hour to operate.
Space heaters do use less energy as compared to using central heat. However, they are not as efficient as space heaters. As such, having a space heater in every room in the home and turning them all on at the same will only cost you more, not less. When you purchased your heater is also a factor.
Infrared Heaters – the lowest wattage per heat provided makes these the cheapest to run. Oil-Filled Heaters – their long-lasting heat makes the most out of the electricity. Storage Heaters – saves in running costs by using off-peak electricity tariffs.
So I did the research, and even made a free calculator. On average, a 1,500W heater costs around $0.20 per hour to run on high. This adds up to a cost of $1.60 for 8 hours a day, and $48 per month. The running costs depend on your electric heater's power, running time, heat settings, and your electricity price.
Electric heaters show much energy they use as their heat output. For example, a 2kW fan heater would cost 40p an hour to run on full power. Over a four-hour evening, this would be £1.60, and over a week, £11.20.
In the US, running a 2,000W heater will cost $0.26 per hour. That means that running a 2,000W heater for 24 hours will cost $6.24 per day.
Electric radiators and infrared panels are the most efficient form of electric heating because both use radiant heat to maintain room temperatures.
According to Choose, the cost is approximately 3.8 pence per kWh, which means it would cost around 91 pence to run a 24 kW boiler for one hour. This will change depending on the cost of gas and the size and age of your boiler.
What's cheaper, gas or electricity? Gas energy is much cheaper to run than electricity on a regular basis, but the overall costs of installation, maintenance and running expenses tend to favour electricity, with the average lifetime of products also outlasting that of gas.
Because of electricity generation and transmission losses, electric heat is often more expensive than heat produced in homes or businesses that use combustion appliances.
So, is electric or gas heat cheaper? Using off-peak electricity, conventional electric heating may cost about twice as much as gas heating to run. And here's why: electric heaters are essentially 100% efficient.
AC Unit. Because an electric furnace needs to generate heat, it uses far more electricity than an air conditioning unit as it works to keep your home warm.
Are electric radiators cheap to run? It's stated that electric radiators are 100 per cent efficient. This is because they use 100 per cent of the electricity provided to heat a room and so they are an energy-efficient way to heat your home.
The Energy Department estimates that the cost to heat an entire home with electric space heaters cost 43% more than a gas furnace. Using a space heater in your bedroom only while you sleep is a practical way to use a space heater and won't make much of a dent in your electricity bill.
For every degree that you lower the thermostat can help you save up to 1% on your heating costs. So, if you turn down the heating eight degrees for about eight hours a night, you can enjoy a saving of approximately $180 annually on your heating.
Electric heaters are 100% efficient at point of use as they convert every watt of electricity taken from the wall into usable heat, meaning there's zero waste. In this sense, all electric heaters do in fact have the same efficiency.
The average gas bill for a 3-bed house
Typically, a 3-bed house would cost £840 per year or £70 per month. This is based on the average cost of gas being around 7p per kWh. The size of the house will also have a big impact on how much you're paying each month.
If you do have a 'time of use' electricity tariff, it will operate on-peak and off-peak times, with electricity cheaper at night. What counts as peak and off peak can vary depending on your provider, where you live, and the time of year.