According to a new national survey, millions of Britons are misinformed on the most cost effective way to stay warm this winter.
Conducted this autumn by energy saving specialists at Utilita, research has found that 25% of UK households use electric heaters instead of gas boilers. This is despite the fact plug-in technology can cost almost four times more than gas to run.
Furthermore, 21% of households do not recognise this price difference, and instead believe electric heaters are cheaper to run. And almost four-in-10 residences are home to an electric heater, despite also having gas-powered central heating.
When asked why they thought electric was a better option, 54% said they turned to this technology when only one room in the house needed heating. 45% said it was because of the immediate difference electric heaters make, 34% simply ‘assumed’ it was lower cost, and 27% did not understand they could choose to heat a single room with gas boilers by turning individual radiators off.
‘Plug-in heaters cost significantly more to operate. On average, running an electric portable heater will cost £3 per day, compared to just £0.90 per day for gas central heating for one room,’ Dimitrios Stefanoglou, Sustainable Innovation Analyst at Utilita.
‘They cost between 3-3.7 times more to run, on average,’ Stefanoglou continued. ‘Heating the average sized living room (17.1m²) with an electric portable heater would cost £400.46, compared to £136.17 a year with a 20-year-old boiler, or £108.65 with a new gas boiler equipped with smart controls.’
TV advertising was found to be a major source of misinformation. 35% reported they had invested in an electric heater because of what a friend or family had seen on a commercial. As winter temperatures set in across the country and the government prepares to reveal a new budget which could have a detrimental impact on cold weather support for vulnerable households, increasing efforts to inform local residents on how to stay warm for less, cutting through misleading noise, could be an easy win for councils.
Image: Achudh Krishna / Unsplash
More Energy & Net Zero:
Labour saves face with Boiler Upgrade Scheme expansion, for now
Can Energy Margin Intelligence overcome market volatility and ease fuel poverty?