More Kent homeowners are asking me about electric boilers, partly because of solar PV uptake and partly because of patchy mains gas in rural areas. Here's a straight comparison so you can pick the right one for your home.
Running cost
On a standard tariff, electricity costs roughly 4x more per unit than gas. That sounds damning for electric boilers, but it ignores three things: electric boilers are 99-100% efficient at point of use, gas boilers degrade in efficiency over time, and time-of-use tariffs (Octopus Agile, Cosy) can drop electric unit costs dramatically overnight.
If you have solar PV and a battery, an electric boiler running mostly on self-generated power can undercut a gas boiler on running cost. Without solar, gas usually wins on running cost alone.
Install cost
- Gas combi swap (like-for-like): from around £2,200
- Electric boiler install: from around £1,800
- Gas system conversion (e.g. regular to combi): from around £3,500
- Electric boiler retrofit replacing gas: from around £2,500 (includes capping gas safely)
Electric boilers are usually cheaper to install because there's no flue to fit, no gas pipework changes, and no Gas Safe certification required on the boiler itself (though I am Gas Safe registered for any gas appliances being decommissioned).
Where electric wins
- Properties not on the mains gas grid (saves switching to oil or LPG)
- Flats where a gas flue would be impractical or expensive
- Homes with solar PV (especially with battery storage)
- Smaller homes with modest hot water demand
- Anyone going fully electric ahead of future gas boiler restrictions
Where gas still wins
- Large family homes with two or more bathrooms
- Properties on mains gas with no solar PV and no plans for it
- Households where running cost per unit matters more than install cost
- High hot-water-demand setups (frequent baths, multiple showers in quick succession)
I install both. When I survey your home, I'll tell you which one genuinely fits your property, your usage, and your budget. If gas is the better answer, I won't push electric just because it's the newer service.