Electric heating is not automatically wrong, but direct electric heat is easy to make expensive when it is used for long hours or whole-home heating.
For whole-room regular heating, direct electric heating is usually expensive compared with mains gas because the electricity unit rate is much higher.
Electric heat can still make sense for short bursts, rooms without central heating, targeted comfort, or homes where installation simplicity matters.
Current rate used: 24.67p/kWh electricity, 5.74p/kWh gas, based on Ofgem price cap, 1 April to 30 June 2026 for Direct Debit customers. Your actual tariff can differ by supplier, region, payment method and meter type.
The full-power column is the clean benchmark. The 65% column is a more realistic starting point for a thermostat-controlled heater in a warmed-up room.
| Heater size | Cost per hour | 4 hours | 7 days at 4h/day | 30 days at 4h/day | 30 days at 65% average output |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500W | £0.12 | £0.49 | £3.45 | £14.80 | £9.62 |
| 1kW | £0.25 | £0.99 | £6.91 | £29.60 | £19.24 |
| 1.5kW | £0.37 | £1.48 | £10.36 | £44.41 | £28.86 |
| 2kW | £0.49 | £1.97 | £13.82 | £59.21 | £38.49 |
| 2.5kW | £0.62 | £2.47 | £17.27 | £74.01 | £48.11 |
(watts / 1000) x hours x electricity price per kWh
For this page's 2kW example, 4 hours at full output costs £1.97. Used the same way for 30 days, it costs £59.21; at 65% average output it is closer to £38.49.
Short answers to the questions this page is built to solve.
No. It can be sensible for short, targeted use. It becomes expensive when direct electric heat is used for large areas or long hours.
The current benchmark electricity unit rate is much higher than the gas unit rate, so direct electric heat has a higher fuel cost per kWh.