When the cold winter months come along, there’s nothing like staying in your nice, warm home. But with heating bills at an all-time high, many families are wondering whether they should swap their current gas radiators for more efficient options.
Gas vs electric radiators is a hot topic (quite literally) for more and more people in the UK. Read on to find out which is best for your home…
Electric radiators vs gas
Gas radiators are currently the most popular heating option in the UK. This kind of radiator is usually connected to a central boiler, which heats the water and makes it flow through to the radiator.
On the other hand, there are electric radiators. To be clear, we mean fixed radiators powered by electricity – not portable electric radiators which are known to be less effective. The most fundamental difference between gas vs electric radiators is that the latter provide heat without interacting with a central boiler.
But that is far from being the only difference between gas and electric radiators. To help you decide between both options, we have compiled the top 4 differences between electric and gas radiators…
1. Installation
To set up a gas radiator system, a gas engineer will have to install a full-blown central heating system with pipes, vents and ducts. The biggest downside to gas radiator installation is that it can take up to two weeks to be completed safely.
As you can imagine, such a complex installation is everything but cheap. You’ll also have a boiler taking up space somewhere in your home. In contrast, installing an electric radiator system can be completed in a single day.
2. Safety
In order to generate heat, gas boilers need to burn fuel. This poses a series of dangerous risks – such as carbon monoxide intoxication, fires and explosions. Unlike their gas-powered counterpart, electric radiators don’t need to generate heat by burning fuel. This makes them a much safer option for all kinds of households. That being said, you should always ensure that your electric heaters have been installed correctly to avoid potential hazards.
3. Cost
While gas is cheaper than electricity on a per-unit basis, you also need to consider the cost of certain additional factors. To start with, the installation costs of an electric radiator is almost non-existent compared to gas radiators. On top of that, electric radiators last up to 50% longer than gas radiators. And because they don’t need to be serviced as often as gas radiators, the maintenance is a lot cheaper too.
4. Efficiency
Because some heat is always emitted into the air during the fuel combustion process, not even the best gas boiler on the market is 100% efficient. To make things worse, gas boilers get more inefficient with the years – to the point where a 10-year-old boiler will lose 20% of the heat it generates.
When it comes to efficiency, electric heaters also have the upper hand. Because they work via a straightforward heat transfer with no combustion, they will always turn 100% of the electricity they use into heat.
Electric vs gas radiators – the verdict
Because they’re safer, more efficient and even space-saving, electric radiators come out on top for most homes. If you want to unlock all of those benefits, Grants Electrical can help.
We install efficient electric radiators in Taunton and the surrounding areas. To find out more or get a quote, call us on 07775447404 or email [email protected].