Recently we have seen some worrying trends on social media, whereby unscrupulous traders have installed electric heating in homes, where the type of product installed has been completely unsuitable. Apart from the poor behaviour of the traders involved, one factor here is a lack of customer understanding regarding the options available. One of the confusions surrounds the terminology – so what does 100% efficient heating mean?

Where a heating device is quoted as being 100% efficient, all this means is that 100% of the energy source is converted into heat energy.

So in the case of an electric radiator, 100% of the electricity consumed is converted into heat energy.

A non-condensing gas boiler will be about 88% efficient and a modern condensing boiler will be about 94% efficient (when at the correct operating temperatures to allow condensing to occur).

A heat pump system will be anywhere between 200 – 400% efficient. This would mean that for every unit of electricity consumed, you might get up to 4 units of heat energy back.

So in general direct electric heating is always 100% efficient

But the critical factor to consider is the price you are paying for this electricity, especially versus the price you are paying for gas, oil or biofuel.

In the most recent example that we saw on LinkedIn, an elderly couple had been duped into removing their “wet” heating system (powered by a gas boiler) and replacing it with electric panel heaters.

There are basically no scenarios in which this could be viewed as a good idea, on a running cost basis. The energy costs in this example would be at least triple, probably up to 3.5 times what they were previously. This is because a panel heater delivers heat in the moment. Assuming you have a standard electricity tariff, no matter when you buy the electricity (day or night) you’ll be paying something like 25 pence per unit. If you have a peak / off-peak pricing arrangement, you will still need to buy electricity at peak prices to benefit from heat during the day or evening.

The way in which direct electric heating makes sense is 2 scenarios:

1. Top up heating in specific places. Perhaps you have one room in which you spend a large amount of time, or conversely you spend hardly any time. In this room, electric heating might make sense. People often use portable electric heaters for this purpose, but a Fisher infra-red heat might also make sense here also.
2. Storage heating. Storage heating can come in a variety of forms – wall mounted high-capacity storage heaters, a TEPEO electric boiler, or an under-floor electric heating in your concrete slab. The common feature is that they all consume electricity at times when the price of electricity is low and store the resultant heat until it is required – discharging it over the course of the day.

Storage heating is nothing new, and has been around or decades. Wall mounted storage heaters have received a SMART upgrade, and can now be controlled via an APP. TEPEO electric boilers work with your existing “wet” heating system, delivering heat around the home via your existing radiators.

In all scenarios it is best to ensure that your home is as well insulated and air-tight as possible. Heat applied into the dwelling needs to be retained. This is the “fabric-first” approach.

So, 100% efficient heating can make perfect sense in many homes.

When you are ready to start investigating the correct options for your home, always ask questions of your installer. Look at their reviews. Get recommendations.

At Brimstone Energy, we have set out to conduct business the right way. Our cornerstone values are Trust, Quality, Integrity.