How much does it cost to heat a warehouse?
Warehouse heating costs are driven by three things almost nobody quotes properly: the height of the space, how many hours it is actually occupied, and whether the system heats the air or the people. Get those right and the annual bill can differ by a factor of three for the same building.
What does it cost to heat a warehouse in the UK?
As a planning figure, warming the full volume of a poorly insulated warehouse to a comfortable office temperature typically costs several times more than heating only the working zones during occupied hours. Gas radiant tubes usually give the lowest running cost per hour in tall spaces with long hours, while electric radiant heating has a far lower capital cost and wins where hours are short or there is no gas supply.
The three cost drivers
Height first. Heat rises, so a 10 metre warehouse heated by warm air holds most of its output above the people. Every metre of unnecessary heated volume is money spent. Radiant systems sidestep this by directing output down onto the working zone.
Then hours. A building occupied 45 hours a week does not need a system optimised for continuous running. Then fabric: roof insulation, door seals and dock arrangements often deliver a larger bill reduction than any change of heater, and a supplier who never mentions them is selling equipment rather than solving a problem.
Cost by system, honestly
Gas radiant tube heaters: higher capital cost, plant and flue work required, but typically the lowest running cost per occupied hour in tall buildings with long operating hours. Electric radiant heaters: low capital cost, no flue, easily zoned, but electricity is roughly four times the unit price of gas, so the case rests on short hours and tight zoning.
Warm air: familiar and cheap to install, but the least suited to tall spaces without destratification fans. Heat pumps: efficient in principle but rarely economic to retrofit across a large, leaky warehouse volume, though they can work for the office and welfare block alongside radiant heating in the warehouse itself.
How to cut the bill before you buy anything
Seal the loading doors and fit rapid or air-curtain arrangements at high-traffic openings. Zone the space so picking aisles, packing benches and offices are treated separately. Set realistic temperatures: 16 degrees for active work is a recognised comfort target, not 21.
Then insist on a heat-loss calculation for the specific building rather than a watts-per-square-metre rule of thumb. That single document is the difference between a system that costs what you were told and one that does not.
A sensible shortlist
- Get a heat-loss calculation for the building, not a rule-of-thumb figure.
- Provide real occupied hours and target temperatures per zone.
- Price gas radiant and electric radiant side by side if gas is available.
- Quantify door and dock losses before increasing heater output.
- Check electrical supply capacity for any electric option.
- Ask for running cost per occupied hour, not per year of continuous use.
Frequently asked questions
Reviewed by the Infrared Heat Solutions technical team · Last updated July 2026 · Data sources: Ofgem price cap, Energy Saving Trust, first-party running-cost model