Best ways to heat your home on a budget
Ever wondered about the cheapest way to heat your home? Discover how much it costs to run a range of heating solutions and compare the best ways to stay warm this winter.
How do most people heat their homes?
In Ireland, the majority of homes have central heating. People heat their homes using one of four main fuels; with some households using more than one method to keep warm in winter.
When it comes to heating our homes, the majority of residential properties in Ireland have central heating, with 34% using natural gas, 34% using oil and 26% electricity as their main space heating fuel.
How we heat our homes is changing though. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) reports that 95% of homes built since 2020 are heated by electricity. Solar energy was present in 16% of BER rated dwellings, while heat pumps were present in 15%.
Oil and gas-fuelled central heating has steadily declined in homes built since 2010.
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What other ways can you heat your home?
Many households use additional methods to boost a chilly room once winter hits, and some people rely exclusively on space heating due to high energy costs or being off-grid.
The most popular types of room heaters are:
- Portable electric heaters
- Wall-mounted heaters
- Portable gas heaters
- Decorative effect fires
- Open fires or log burners
- Ranges or stoves with back boilers
What’s the cheapest way to heat your home?
It depends on several factors, such as the size of your property, its energy efficiency, your desired temperature and the frequency of room use.
Electric heaters can be relatively cheap to buy, low maintenance, and environmentally friendly, but how expensive are they to run and which type of heater is the most cost-effective?
Types of electric room heaters
Plug-in heaters start at around €30 and get more expensive depending on size and sophistication. The more energy efficient they are, the pricier they become.
Here’s a quick description of each type with a starting prices for basic models:
- Infrared/halogen heaters are also known as quartz heaters; they provide instant, radiant heat to focused areas. Prices start at around €30.
- Ceramic heaters generate heat via a ceramic plate safely, efficiently and evenly. Suitable for heating small spaces, prices start at around €50.
- Wall-mounted panel heaters are space-saving and versatile; they radiate heat upwards and outwards and can be sized to fit any room. Prices start at around €80.
- Oil-filled radiators are also known as column heaters; they produce enduring, non-drying heat to small and mid-sized rooms. Prices start at around €40.
- Fan heaters circulate air passed over a heated element to provide warmth. Can be freestanding or wall-mounted. Prices start at around €30.
- Freestanding convector heaters distribute heated air upwards into a room for quick and efficient warmth. Prices start at around €40.
How much does it cost to run an electric heater?
Rather than simply opting for the cheapest heater, it’s worth weighing the heater’s price tag against its running costs before making a purchase.
Here’s some examples of running costs based on a standard tariff unit rate of 37.26 c/kWh (inc VAT).
| Heater | Wattage | Daily cost | Hourly cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infrared heater | 500w to 1,500w | €2.98 | 0.37c | |
| Ceramic heater | 750w to 1,500w | €3.35 | 0.42c | |
| Wall mounted panel heater | 500w to 2,000w | €3.73 | 0.47c | |
| Oil filled radiator | 1,000w to 2,500w | €5.22 | 0.65c | |
| Fan heater | 1,500w to 3,000w | €6.71 | 0.84c | |
| Freestanding convector heater | 2,000w to 3,000w | €7.45 | 0.93c |
How to calculate heater costs: Divide the wattage of your heater by 1,000, multiply by the kWh unit price of your electricity tariff and then divide by 100. For example, on a tariff with a standard unit rate of 37.26 c/kWh a portable fan with a wattage of 2250 (2.25 kWh) would use 0.84 cents per hour. Over an 8 hour period on full, this would cost €6.71.
What are the advantages of space heating?
There are several benefits to using electric heaters in your home, but there are also downsides.
Here’s some of the pros and cons of portable heating:
Pros
Cons
How much does it cost to centrally heat your home?
Several factors influence the daily cost of heating an entire house, including the size of your home and the BER rating, among others.
After comparing various systems like for like, gas central heating is the cheapest heating method.
Here’s what each fuel typically costs per day (based on 3 to 5 hours of heating):
- Gas central heating averages out between €9.00 and €15.00
- Electric central heating averages around €12.00 and €19.00
- Oil fired central heating averages out between €19.00 and €33.00
Is it cheaper to leave the heating on low all day?
It is a common myth that leaving your heating on low all day saves money. It is actually cheaper to turn your heating on only when you need it. Homes constantly lose heat through windows, walls, and roofs.
If you leave your heating on all day, your boiler has to continually use energy to replace that lost heat.
Instead, use a smart timer to heat your home 30 minutes before you wake up or return home.
How do storage heaters work?
Storage heaters are commonly used as part of an electric central heating system. They work by powering on during cheaper, off-peak periods, retaining heat in clay or ceramic bricks, and distributing warmth gradually throughout the day.
Electric storage heaters, often used in rental accommodations, typically cost around €2.00 to €3.50 each, per day to run, based on a typical night rate. With the right plan, such as a smart tariff, they could be an efficient way to heat a small apartment.
Storage heaters are designed for time of use tariffs, so if you need to boost up the heating during the day, they lose their cost-effectiveness. On balance, gas-fired heating works out cheaper.
How much do solar panels reduce the cost of heating?
Using a renewable energy source like solar panels can generate between 3 and 10 kWh per day, so if your home is centrally heated with electricity, it could reduce your bills by around 60%.
Bear in mind, solar panels will only reduce the cost you pay for electricity, so if your home is heated by gas or oil you will not reap the benefits.
However, replacing your combi boiler with an electric heat pump allows your solar panels to directly power your central heating and hot-water system.
How do portable heaters compare to central heating?
Some electric heaters are very cost-effective - especially if they have a low wattage, but if you need to heat several rooms on a daily basis, costs would soon add up. For instance, an electric panel heater in four rooms for 8 hours per day could cost up to €15 per day (around €450 per month during colder months).
Ultimately, the actual cost of heating your home - either with space heaters or central heating - depends on:
- the size of your home
- frequency and length of heating
- your thermostat setting
- energy efficiency rating (BER)
- type of energy tariff
- how well you insulate and conserve heat
In reality, the only way to compare costs accurately is to use a smart meter.
What else can you do to beat the heating bills?
Draught-proofing and DIY insulation offer the cheapest, highest-return methods for keeping your home warm. Often costing next to nothing while delivering instant results, any upfront cost is recouped within the first winter through lower energy bills.
Working from home has become increasingly common in recent years, leading to a rise in the popularity of heating suits and foot warmers. These wearable devices provide body warmth without the need to turn up the thermostat.
Heating suits contain heating elements placed around the body and are powered by a battery or USB. They’re cheap to run and truly portable, so you can wear them while working at your desk, watching TV, or reading.
What’s the best way to heat your home?
Electric, portable heaters like infrared, ceramic and oil-filled radiators are great for heating one room efficiently, but buying a space heater for every room would increase your electricity bill more than if you bumped up the heating controls.
Bear in mind that when you use central heating and the thermostat reaches a set temperature, the boiler switches off and only fires up again to keep the house at a constant temperature. This means the cost per hour will be reduced after the first couple of hours as your boiler doesn’t have to work so hard.
For those working from home or regularly only using one or two rooms, it’s worth buying a portable, energy-efficient heater with a thermostat to keep the room temp in check. This means you can keep the heating down or off in unused rooms.
The bottom line is, that when you need to heat your entire home, central heating, especially gas central heating, is currently the cheapest way to stay warm if you don’t have solar panels or a heat pump.
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