AC heating vs electric heaters
Heating the same UK room for a season costs a fraction as much with an inverter heat-pump air conditioner as with a traditional electric heater. Here's the breakdown.
Electric heater / season
£607.50
Heat-pump AC / season
£202.50
You save
£405.00
~67% less electricity
Your projected savings
Adjust your usage to see how much an inverter heat-pump AC saves versus electric heating each winter.
Total warmth needed: 2,250 kWh / season.
Electric heater
£608
Heat-pump AC
£203
You save / season
£405
~67% less electricity
Cumulative winter savings
1 yr
£405
3 yrs
£1,215
5 yrs
£2,025
10 yrs
£4,050
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Head-to-head
Running cost / season
Heat-pump AC: £202.50
Electric heater: £607.50
Efficiency
Heat-pump AC: Up to 300%
Electric heater: 100%
Electricity used / season
Heat-pump AC: 750 kWh
Electric heater: 2250 kWh
Summer cooling too
Heat-pump AC: Yes — built in
Electric heater: No
| Heating type | Electricity / season | Cost / season | Efficiency | Summer cooling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Inverter heat-pump AC | 750 kWh | £202.50 | 300% | |
Plug-in electric fan / convection heater | 2250 kWh | £607.50 | 100% | |
Electric storage heater | 2250 kWh | £607.50 | 100% |
Based on a room needing 3 kW of warmth for 5 hours/day across a 150-day UK heating season and a representative electricity tariff of £0.27/kWh. Actual savings vary with room size, insulation, tariff and usage.
Why a heat pump uses so much less
An electric heater turns 1 kW of electricity into 1 kW of heat — 100% efficient, but it can never do better than that. A heat-pump air conditioner uses that same 1 kW of electricity to move roughly 3 kW of heat from the outdoor air into your room. With a coefficient of performance (COP) of around 3, it delivers the same warmth using a third of the electricity.
Want the full picture on year-round comfort? see heat-pump air conditioners that heat and cool.
Inverter heat-pump AC
- Moves heat, doesn't generate it
- Cools in summer too
- Quiet, inverter-steady warmth
Plug-in electric fan / convection heater
- Cheap to buy
- Plug-and-play
- Highest running cost
- No cooling in summer
Electric storage heater
- Uses off-peak night tariff
- Heat fades by evening
- No cooling in summer
- Bulky
Cut your winter heating bills
Browse inverter heat-pump units that heat for a fraction of the cost of electric heaters — and cool your home in summer too.