What is the cheapest way to heat a part-empty office?

Zoned radiant heat on the occupied desks. Running cost tracks the area you actually heat, so a 30%-occupied floor can cost roughly a third of a whole-floor system.

Do infrared panels work in an office with high ceilings?

Yes, up to about 3.5 m with standard panels; above that you need higher-output units or a lower suspended mounting height.

Can office heating be installed out of hours?

Electric radiant work is mostly electrical first-fix and is commonly done in evenings and weekends to avoid disrupting the working day.

How do you stop arguments over the office thermostat?

Give each zone its own control. Most disputes are a zoning failure rather than a temperature disagreement.

Office heating: per-desk comfort without the thermostat war

The office heating question changed in 2020 and most systems never caught up. When occupancy swings between 20% and 90% week to week, the winning system is the one you can turn down in halves — not the one with the best headline efficiency.

Quick answer

What is the legal minimum office temperature in the UK?

There is no absolute legal figure, but the Workplace Regulations approved code of practice gives 16°C as the reasonable minimum for sedentary office work (13°C where the work is physical).

The problem with office heating

Hybrid working broke the old assumption of a full floor. You now heat a whole open-plan floorplate for a handful of people, and one central thermostat can never suit both the window desks and the core.

Zoning strategy: Zone by desk cluster and meeting room so unoccupied areas hold a setback temperature only.

Options compared

System	Verdict	Upfront	Running
Infrared / radiant panels Ceiling or wall panels per zone, silent, with no maintenance contract or plant room.	Best fit	Low	Medium
Air conditioning in heat-pump mode Efficient and gives cooling too, but noisier and needs annual F-gas servicing.	Viable	Medium	Low
Gas central heating Fine for a full floor, poor at part-occupancy because zoning is coarse.	Viable	High	Low fuel cost
Portable electric heaters The default fix in cold offices and the most expensive heat available.	Poor fit	Low	Very high

Indicative annual heating cost — 120 m², average / part-insulated

Degree-day method at UK average 2000 HDD, Ofgem price cap (indicative, 2026). Whole-space figures — zoning typically cuts these substantially.

Infrared panels£1,871/yr
Air-source heat pump£750/yr
Gas central heating£675/yr
Old electric / storage heaters£2,399/yr

Run the numbers for your own building →

What office heating costs to install

Meeting room or small private office£450 – £1,200
One or two panels on a local thermostat.
Open-plan floor (100–200 m²)£3,500 – £9,000
Zoned ceiling panels with scheduled and occupancy control.
Multi-floor fit-out£15,000+
Phased floor by floor around occupied working hours.

Office heating: FAQs

Reviewed by the Infrared Heat Solutions technical team · Last updated July 2026 · Data sources: Open-Meteo, Ofgem, Energy Saving Trust

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