Electric Boilers Vs Gas Boilers: Pros & Cons

While natural gas boilers continue to dominate the heating scene across the UK, there now exists low or no-carbon alternatives.

Aside from options like oil boilers, heat pumps, and biomass boilers, electric boilers have seen a surge in popularity in recent years.

But how do electric and gas boilers compare in terms of running costs and other key metrics?

Let’s find out…

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Electric and Gas Boilers: Key Differences

Firstly, the clearest difference between electric and gas boilers is how they are powered with the former using electricity and the latter using gas.

This difference has plenty of implications, whether about running costs, their impacts on the environment or their safety concerns.

Returning to the broad differences between electric and gas boilers, their general functioning is quite different due to their power sources.

Starting with gas boilers, there are two types to choose from, namely natural gas and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) boilers.

In the case of natural gas boilers (the most common choice among UK households), gas is taken from the main supply and burned inside a heat exchanger.

As hot gas progresses through the pipework, the surrounding water becomes hot.

Once it’s sufficiently heated, it can be sent to the hot water tank or pumped around your property’s radiators to heat rooms throughout your home.

Alternatively, properties without access to the gas grid may opt for LPG boilers.

These boilers require that an LPG tank be installed on-site as a means of providing fuel for the boiler. The tank would then need refilling as the quantity of LPG gas drops.

The exact design of a gas-based heating system (whether it uses natural gas or LPG) can vary depending on the type of boiler being used with options being a combi, system, or conventional boiler.

For more information, check out our guide to the various types of boiler systems.

So, how do electric boilers work exactly?

To expand on our initial point (that they use electricity… of course), these boilers work by energising an internal heating element so that it can heat up surrounding cold water. It works in a similar way as a kettle.

From there, once the water is heated up, the process is more or less the same as it would be for a gas boiler.

The key differences in how electric and gas boilers work, therefore rest with their energy source and how they heat the water needed for heating your home and direct hot water use.

What About the Costs?

Please note that a Gas Safe Register engineer must be hired to install a gas boiler.

As for an electric boiler, this can be installed by an electrician, however, a Gas Safe Register engineer would still be needed to remove your existing gas boiler (if you have one).

Before we discuss the various pros and cons of electric and gas boilers, you’ll probably first want to know how they compare price-wise.

Of course, we’ll touch on their cost differences in more detail in the next section.

As for the upfront cost, electric boilers tend to have a lower installation cost than gas boilers.

In general, having a boiler installed is likely to cost somewhere in the region of £1,500 to £3,500, but, in general, electric boilers are more likely to fall in the lower end of this range than gas boilers. 

This is due to the price of electricity compared to gas, which remains around three times more expensive per kilowatt hour.

Electric Vs Gas Boilers: Pros and Cons

Now that we’ve broadly distinguished electric boilers from gas boilers, let’s dive into their pros and cons, and thus, how they compare in more detail.

Electric Boiler Pros

• Lower Installation Cost

  Since there is usually less work needed to install an electric boiler and neither a flue nor gas supply connection is needed, they tend to have a lower installation cost. With that said, you’d also need to pay to have your existing gas boiler removed, so whether or not the cost would actually prove lower is not certain either way.

• No Danger of Carbon Monoxide
  Since electric boilers do not use gas there is obviously no risk of carbon monoxide leakage/poisoning. Indeed, electric boilers pose no risk of a gas leak of any kind, making them comparatively safer.

• Low Noise Output
  Another benefit of electric boilers is that they are not as loud as gas boilers.

• Can Be More Eco-Friendly
  You may be wondering why we didn’t simply state that ‘they are more eco-friendly. Well, you have to remember that an electric boiler is likely to use electricity sourced from the national grid and most of this electricity is initially generated using fossil fuels. Therefore, if you want your electric boiler to have no carbon footprint, you’d either need to source electricity from a green energy provider or use on-site renewable power generation such as solar panels to power your boiler. If you take one of the aforementioned approaches, an electric boiler can be far better for the environment than a gas boiler.

• High Efficiency
  Electric boilers offer efficiency levels of as much as 99%, which goes beyond that of gas boilers. Modern combi gas boilers still tend to offer an efficiency rating of 90% or greater, but electrical boilers are generally more efficient.

Electric Boiler Cons:

• Not Suitable for Larger Properties
  Electric boilers can’t generally meet the heating demands of large properties. So, if you suspect your home is above average in size, you might want to check with a qualified professional as to whether an electric boiler would even suit your home.

• Running Costs
  As touched on, electric boilers are costlier to run most of the time. Things are a little complex right now but for the coming several years, we expect electric boilers to be more expensive to run. However, long-term trends may see gas boilers become permanently more expensive to run but only time will tell.

• Will Use Lots of Electricity
  If you opt for an electric boiler, you would then be using electricity for all its current purposes and also to heat your home. This could cause problems if you have a high electricity demand as it is. For instance, using too much electricity could cause circuit breakers to trip, becoming a regular inconvenience. However, this may not apply to your home. If in doubt, consult with an electrician. 

Gas Boiler Pros:

• Popular and Widespread
  Gas boilers are far and away the most common type of boilers in the UK. What’s more, there are far more gas boiler models and individual units on the market than there are electric boilers. This means more models to choose from and that it’s less likely a boiler you like will suddenly be out of stock.

• Suitable for a Wide Range of Properties
  Gas boilers are also suited to more properties than electric properties. As touched on earlier, an electric boiler may not suffice for a large property with high heating demand.

• Lower Running Costs
  Again, you can expect lower running costs with a gas boiler over the next several years and potentially beyond.

• Like-for-like Replacement
  It will be less time-consuming to simply have a gas boiler installed in place of an existing gas boiler.

Gas Boiler Cons:

• Higher Servicing and Maintenance Expenses
  Due to the complexity of gas boilers and the hazards they pose, maintenance is essential. Of course, maintaining an electric boiler is also important but given the complexity and hazardous concerns associated with gas boilers, they are likely to cost more to service and maintain over time.

• Produces More Noise
  As mentioned, gas boilers are noisier than electric boilers.

• More Safety Concerns
  Due to concerns such as the risk of gas leaks, including carbon monoxide, gas boilers come with more safety hazards.

• Likely to Cost More to Install
  The labour and standalone costs of having a new gas boiler installed are likely to be higher than would be the case with an electric boiler.

Should I Opt for An Electric or Gas Boiler?

If you can’t have one of these options installed on your property then you know which choice is for you.

For example, perhaps your home is too large for an electric boiler or, on the other hand, maybe you are not connected to the national gas grid, and thus cannot go with a gas boiler.

But if your home is suitable for either an electric or gas boiler, it comes down to your preferences, priorities, and budget.

By knowing what matters most to you in a boiler and heating system, you’ll be able to determine which option is right for you.

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