Electrical appliances have a bad reputation when it comes to heating costs, which is probably why so many of our customers are keen to find the answer to one important question before buying one of our electric fires: are electric fires expensive to run?
In the manner of an urban legend, it has become a widely accepted truth that electric fires are expensive to run in the UK… but is that strictly true?
Low installation cost
You may choose to build a media wall or fit your electric fire within a recess but, at its most basic level, all you need in order to install an electric fire is a plug socket. Gas fires and wood-burning stoves both need flue and more complicated installations. So that’s likely to be a big saving in favour of an electric fire before you even start to think about running costs.
Price per/kWh
Electric fires have perhaps seen their good name besmirched because the cost per/kWh is most expensive than most other forms of heating. At the time of writing, the average price of electricity in the UK is 14.40 pence/kWh and the average price of gas in the UK is around 2.80 pence/kWh. That’s clearly a substantial difference, but there are mitigating factors…
100% efficiency
When you pay 14.40 pence for your kWh of electricity, all of that 14.40 pence is spent on heating your home. Electric fires are 100% efficient at the point of use. For most gas fires, efficiency will be somewhere between 50% and 80%. If we take the 50% scenario, you are already having to pay 5.6 pence to generate the same amount of heat as the 14.40 pence. With global gas prices continuing to rise dramatically, the cost per kWh gap might closer even further in the the coming weeks, months and years.
Use only what you need
Electric fires turn on at the press of a button and get up to temperature very quickly. When you and your home are toasty enough, you can simply turn the fire off at the press of a button. You’re not committed to using fuel that you don’t really need to use as might be the case with a wood-burning stove or open fire.
Affordable atmosphere
Many electric fires have a flame-only setting, which allows you to have the LED flame effect in operation without actually using the heater. And if you’ve been wondering are electric fires expensive to run, you can rest assured that they’re definitely not in flame-only mode. The costs of operating the flame effect are minuscule, which make electric fires one of the few forms of heating with which you can create a cosy atmosphere with practically no expense.
Easy maintenance
There aren’t any significant maintenance costs with an electric fire. With other appliance you might have to factor in annual services, yearly or six-monthly chimney sweeps and replacing worn or warped parts.
Ready to explore electric fires?
If you’re satisfied with everything you’ve read about electric fire running costs, feel free to take a look at our current range of electric fires.
