Electric heating cheaper than gas central heating for the average household

(20/02/2007)

Electric heating in the home is cheaper than gas central heating for the average householder, according to a study undertaken by Creda, part of the Applied Energy group.

When all the relevant costs such as installation, maintenance, fuel costs and safety checks are accounted for, the annualised cost difference for landlords and social housing developers can be as high as 46%.

Electricity charges remain slightly higher than gas, but manufacturers of gas boilers insist on annual servicing as part of their guarantee conditions, which is not a requirement of ‘zero maintenance’ electric heating. Once this true cost is accounted for, electric heating can be more than 17% cheaper than gas central heating for the average household.

Electric heating is available at a much lower capital outlay, has flexibility of design and a faster and, therefore, cheaper installation cost, with no requirement for annual maintenance. Overall installation costs for an electric system are as much as half that of gas heating installation.

In social housing and for landlords generally it is a legal requirement that gas heating appliances must have thorough annual safety checks and, under the conditions of a manufacturer’s guarantee, must be serviced by competent and qualified personnel. Electric appliances have no such obligations due to the safe, clean and 100% efficient nature of the heating system.

Once landlords account for these installation cost differences, safety checks and servicing requirements, the true cost difference between gas and electric has been calculated at 46% on an annualised basis.

The study compared a typical installation of 6 electric or wet radiators with their lifetime expectations and used information from the National Landlords Associations and British Gas Servicing to understand true costs. Finally, fuel costs were calculated based on BRE GPG345 updated with the least expensive on-line prices for both Gas and Electricity effective March 20th 2006.

On this basis the true lifetime costs for a comparable gas installation was £725 per annum. The same heating and comfort requirement was achieved using electric at a lifetime cost of £390 per annum. A difference of £335 per annum or 46.2%

Related categories:  Boilers - Combination and condensing   Boilers - Gas   Burners and valves   Central heating systems and pumps   Electric heating   Radiators: panel, convector, towel rails   Residential applications 

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