The Best Heater For Toasty Toes In 2022 – Gas or Electric?

Have you noticed your heating system grumbling and groaning during the cold snap this year? Maybe you struggled with it over Christmas, and now you’re thinking it might be time to retire the old and bring in something new? You’re not the only one! Lots of people upgrade their heating systems at this time of year to make sure they can stay warm through until the springtime sun. But rather than just going a like-for-like upgrade, we recommend you look at all of the options on the market, and see what suits you better – gas or electric heating?

Energy Efficiency

We’re currently living through not only an energy crisis, but an environmental crisis, which means choosing an energy-efficient heating system has never been more important. Ideally, you want to choose something that has an as little environmental impact as possible while still providing you with the warmth you need at low costs. Unfortunately, gas heating loses both of those battles right away. Fossil fuels are a big contributor to greenhouse gases and are one of the least energy-efficient heat sources on the market. Electric heating however is 100% energy efficient, since energy is immediately converted to heat and none is lost in production (so you’ll save money on your bills right away), while also moving away from fossil fuels and reducing your home’s carbon footprint.

Lifespan

As a general rule, gas heating systems have a much shorter lifespan than their electric counterparts. There are a couple of reasons for this, including electric heaters having fewer moving parts (so less to go wrong), higher safety regulations, better energy efficiency ratings, less environmental impact and the ability to be placed anywhere in your home and moved if needed, ensuring continued use over the years. So if you want to upgrade your heating system to something that will last for decades to come with minimal upkeep, electric heaters are the way to go.

Control

There’s nothing worse than feeling uncomfortable in your own home, but that’s what many of us go through on a day-to-day basis. Gas heating systems don’t have a hugely sophisticated control mechanism, meaning you’re often either too hot or too cold and spending more money than needed to find the balance. There’s a reason your mum always told you to put a jumper on rather than mess with the heating! Once again, electric heaters win the battle, because they give you a level of control over your home heating never seen before. A few of the features you’ll find on electric heaters include:

• Smart thermostats with WiFi connectivity, allowing you to control your heating from your phone.
• LCD displays.
• Frost protection.
• Remote control access.
• Automatic climate control.
• Cold air settings.

Let’s face it, you’ll never find all that on a gas heater!

Choosing The Best Electric Heater

So if the future is electric heaters, then how do you choose the best one for your home in 2022? The bad news is there is no ‘one size fits all solution for electric heaters – what suits you best will be what fits in with your home and your lifestyle. So we can’t just tell you ‘this is the best electric heater’. What we can do is tell you some of the things you need to think about before you buy, so you can make the most informed decision before you buy.
Choose your type: There are multiple types of electric heaters to choose from, so narrowing down the list will make your search a lot simpler. The main types include convection heaters, fan heaters, oil-filled heaters, night storage heaters and towel rails. You’ll also need to decide if they will be free-standing or wall-mounted, as this can affect the price.

Decide what’s important: Electric heaters come with all sorts of bells and whistles, so before you start looking try and decide which features are ‘must-haves, and which are only ‘would like’. For example, do you need your electric heater to have a timer switch? Is frost protection necessary or important where you live? Do you really want it to be WiFi-enabled, or does that not bother you? The only thing we would recommend you definitely look for is a cold air setting, since UK homes are designed to keep the heat in, and we know how hot it gets in summer!
Set a budget: Electric heaters come in all shapes and sizes, which means they come in all budget ranges as well. Knowing what your budget is for a new heating system will help you narrow down your search and find something that fits the bill in your price range the first time around.

Still not sure where to start looking for your new electric heater? At Electric Heating Expert, we’re, well, the experts in all things electric heating! If you would like to know more or have any questions, we’d be happy to help. Just get in touch with the team today.