Infrared heaters often use lower wattages than fan heaters, but the value depends on whether they warm the person or zone you actually care about.
An 800W infrared heater costs about 20p per hour at full power using 24.67p/kWh electricity.
Infrared can look cheaper when it targets a person or zone instead of trying to heat a whole cold room.
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 800W example, 4 hours at full output costs £0.79. Used the same way for 30 days, it costs £23.68; at 65% average output it is closer to £15.39.
Short answers to the questions this page is built to solve.
They can be cheaper per hour if the wattage is lower, but only if the targeted heat solves the comfort problem.
Sometimes for spot heating, but it may not be enough if the whole room needs to be warm.