Infrared heating running costs explained

We estimate the annual heat a room needs using the degree-day method: the room's heat-loss coefficient (floor area × a W/K figure for its insulation) multiplied by local Heating Degree Days, which measure how cold the location is over a year. That gives a defensible kWh figure for the space.

We then convert kWh to pounds using the current Ofgem price cap unit rate — around 24.5p per kWh for electricity and 6.2p for gas — and apply each system's real efficiency: 100% for direct electric, a coefficient of performance of about 3.2 for a heat pump, and 90% for a gas boiler.

Much of the infrared industry advertises blanket savings like 'up to 60% cheaper'. That is not honest — a resistive panel cannot beat a heat pump on kWh, and whether infrared saves money depends entirely on how you use the space. We would rather show you the real figure for your room than sell a slogan.

Where infrared genuinely saves is by cutting wasted heat: no warming empty rooms, no heating the air near a high ceiling, no standby losses from a boiler and pipework.

Because the answer is so specific to your building, the useful thing is to run your own numbers. Our running-cost calculator uses real local climate data and the current price cap to estimate the annual cost for your room across infrared, heat pump, gas and old electric heating side by side.