A cold reality: The hidden cost of living with electric heating.
Is it cold enough to put the heating on? At this time of year, this is the question that will be on the lips of people all over the country. And over the last few winters, this has become an increasingly difficult question, with energy prices rising dramatically. Though the cost of gas and electricity is cheaper now than it was last winter, the lack of direct Government support for energy bills this year means that the average household will be paying the same or even more on energy over the coming winter than they did between January and March this year.
While many of us are feeling the squeeze, this cost will be felt even more for those who use older forms of electric heating. These legacy electric systems include storage heaters, electric radiators and panel heaters — rather than efficient newer technologies like heat pumps. These older systems need to draw lots of electricity for many hours to provide effective heating. Not only this, but you also need one for each room you want to heat, as well as a way to heat your water separately. This makes legacy electric heating systems very inefficient. On top of this, the cost of using electricity is more expensive than the cost of using gas — in fact, at current prices, a unit of electricity is roughly 4 times more expensive than a unit of gas. The combination of high electricity costs and inefficient heating mechanisms means that using storage heaters or electric radiators to heat your home can cost a lot more than using a boiler.
These extra costs rapidly add up. For example, a hypothetical family with a 30kw gas boiler would pay around £10.50 per day to keep the heating on for 5 hours and have hot water for the household. The same family with 42kw electric radiators and a 210-litre electric immersion heater for hot water would pay over £13.50 for the same amount of heating and hot water.
This family would be paying more than 25% extra for their energy costs — £3 more every single day. This extra expense quickly adds up — and for those with tight budgets or even negative budgets (meaning those who each month do not have enough money to cover their essential bills), the difference is huge. If both families had the heating on for 4 months a year during the colder winter months, the family with inefficient electric heating would pay an extra £360 over that period.
Citizens Advice data shows that over 40% of those who rely on more expensive electric heating live in privately rented homes. That means that those who live in privately rented properties make up a disproportionate number of people with inefficient legacy systems. Not only do they pay more for using the same amount of heating, but many renters will have even higher bills because their homes are poorly insulated.
Over half of private renters live in homes with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of D or below, meaning the buildings lose heat easily. And 2 in 5 renters say their home retains heat badly. Citizens Advice has found that private renters in England and Wales are on track to waste £1.1bn this year on energy that leaks out of their walls and windows, compared to people living in better-insulated homes. Renters who face the double penalty of expensive heating systems and draughty homes are likely to be spending even more money trying to keep leaky buildings warm.
Part of this problem is that renters don’t have the option to decide what technology is installed in their homes or make their own energy efficiency upgrades. This means they’re often left to use old, expensive and inefficient radiators — made worse by draughty homes. And while the government has committed to end Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, this has been delayed, and renters can still fear the risk of being evicted if they ask for upgrades to their home’s insulation or heating system. In fact, every month, we help around 180 people with retaliatory evictions after asking for repairs to be done in their homes. Renters who do ask are often left waiting for action — like Charlotte, who came to us for help:
Charlotte lives alone in a 1 bedroom flat. She struggles with her mental health and currently relies on Universal Credit, Council Tax Reduction and Personal Independence Payment as she is unable to work. She also has a few separate debts that she is trying to pay off.
Charlotte’s flat is in a very old and cold building with an EPC rating of E. Charlotte uses two portable electric heaters to stay warm as the flat has night storage heaters, which don’t work well. She often has to clear up puddles of water due to condensation on the windows, and there is mould on her window seals. Charlotte has complained to her landlord, but resolutions are taking a long time.
Meanwhile, she has struggled to pay the electricity bill and has fallen into debt with her supplier. Adding further to the debts she already has.
Too many private renters have been left with high bills and cold homes because of poor insulation and outdated electric heating systems. And with renters facing another expensive winter, the situation is urgent. This will continue to be an issue as predictions for next year show no ease in cost.
To fix this, we need higher minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector to ensure that tenants aren’t wasting money in leaky and cold homes. EPC ratings should also better reflect where properties have inefficient or expensive heating systems. Support for landlords should be considered to help them make these upgrades, including green finance options and tax incentives for making improvements. And ending Section 21 evictions would help tenants ask for the changes they need without fear of retaliatory evictions.
But proposals to require minimum energy efficiency standards of EPC C in privately rented homes have been shelved, and plans to end Section 21 evictions have been delayed. This leaves many private renters in cold, expensive homes with no options to make improvements. By the end of the year, the failure to implement minimum energy efficiency standards will have cost private renters £2.8 billion in wasted energy since the proposals were first consulted on in 2020 — and the situation will be even worse for those using inefficient heating systems. It is vitally important for these people that these measures are not forgotten about. The longer reforms are delayed, the higher the cost for people in poorly insulated homes.
As we decarbonise our homes, more households will be moving to newer and more efficient electric heating systems, including heat pumps. We must make sure that tenants aren’t left behind in this transition with inefficient legacy electric heating systems that have devastating knock-on effects on their finances.
If you need help with saving energy at home, you can have a look at our website for our energy advice.
