Developers and homeowners are finding themselves under mounting pressure to make homes that are sustainable and ecologically sound. This might mean changing behaviour (say, by not filling the kettle quite as much), or it might mean introducing new technologies.
According to a 2019 report from cross-party thinktank Policy Connect, gas central heating boilers pose a threat that’s on a par with emissions from cars, since both contributed around 14% to the UK’s overall emissions. Since the automotive industry is midway through an electric-powered revolution, shouldn’t it follow that domestic central heating should undergo a similar transformation?
Electric radiators could be an ideal solution to help the government to reach it’s net-zero carbon emissions goals in the coming decades. They’re easier to install, and aren’t reliant on fossil fuel and finite resources in the same way as a gas-powered boiler system. So why might we be tempted? And why might we hesitate?
Benefits of Electric Heating
The main advantage of heating using electricity is that it’s 100% efficient. All of the energy that’s ‘wasted’ actually comes off the device in the form of heat. Electrical power is also potentially cleaner. Of course, this isn’t inherently the case – if the energy is coming from a coal-burning power station, then an electric radiator isn’t going to be any less damaging than a gas-powered one. On the other hand, a larger proportion of our energy is coming from renewable sources, and if this trend persists, the case for an electric system might become difficult to refuse.
We can also control the output of an electric radiator more precisely than we can a water-based one. Rather than opening a valve and waiting for hot water to enter the radiator, we’re generating heat instantaneously – and shutting off the source when the desired temperature has been reach. This effectively makes the device more efficient.
We should also consider that some homes in the UK don’t have access to grid gas, which gives them no choice but to use electricity, or the vastly fiddlier LPG, instead.
Of course, there are still some barriers to widespread adoption of electric heating systems. The cost of electricity per unit is higher than that of gas; until this changes, the environmental advantages could be outweighed by financial implications.
There’s also an inherent cost associated with throwing out all of the existing radiators in a property, which makes electric heating less attractive for existing and larger properties. It might be that swapping the boiler for an electric alternative provides a more economical solution, but having adequate incentives in place may be key to accelerate the transition to cleaner heating systems.