Electric Heating and Lower Energy Costs: How to Get Through Rising Bills

Electric heating reduces energy costs meaningfully when the house and the heating are designed well together: sensibly sized rooms, thorough thermal insulation, radiant heating controlled room by room and - where possible - solar panels. In an existing home you can also improve a great deal afterwards without major demolition, for example with an infrared panel or heating film laid under laminate flooring. We wrote this article during the 2022 rise in energy prices; the steps are still valid today.

If you are building now: four steps at the design stage

With a new house, the most can be saved at the drawing board. It is worth telling the designer at the very first meeting that you want a low-running-cost home, so the points below go into the plan and you do not have to look for solutions afterwards.

1. Assess what kind and size of rooms you will need

Unnecessarily large spaces cost money for decades: they have to be heated in winter and cooled in summer.

2. Do not skimp on insulation

Complete and professional thermal insulation raises the initial investment, but a home is not built for 2-3 years. The lower heat loss pays back every heating season, and a lower-output heating, cooling and solar system is enough for the house.

3. Choose heating that suits the house

A heat pump is a popular, low-consumption solution, but in the decision it is worth considering the total running cost: besides the size of the investment, regular maintenance and servicing too. We compared the two systems in detail in our recent cost comparison.

Infrared underfloor heating is increasingly in demand. In the 2022 article we calculated that its heating cost could be about 20% lower than that of other electric heating, because radiant heat first warms people and surfaces and only then the air. The size of the saving depends on the house and the set temperature; the thermal-comfort effect behind it is explained in our article on the consumption of infrared heating.

Built under concrete, the floor also works as heat storage: it stores the warmth and releases it evenly.

Room-by-room control matters a lot too. We use the bathroom, bedroom and living room at different times of day and at different temperatures; if each is only as warm as needed, and only when needed, it saves a noticeable sum over a year.

4. Think about solar panels too

It is worth looking at the investment as a whole: if building the heating costs less, the difference can also contribute to financing a solar system. Solar panels can reduce the electricity cost of heating, but it is not worth planning on the energy bill disappearing completely. For newly connected household systems in Hungary, since 1 January 2024 the electricity fed into the grid and the electricity drawn from the grid are accounted for independently of each other, so a summer surplus does not offset winter consumption. Annual net metering remains only for those who applied by September 2023 and put their system into operation by 1 January 2026 - and for them too for a maximum of 10 years.

If you are not building now: what can you do in an existing home?

Most households do not live in a new house, so the more common question is what to do with an existing home. In autumn 2022, when gas prices rose steeply, electric heating became the more economical choice for many, whether as supplementary or main heating. Which is more favourable today is decided by current tariffs and the characteristics of the house.

In a larger home, an infrared panel or panel heater can be a good solution where people actually spend time. These can be installed afterwards, without demolition.

If you are planning a minor renovation anyway, infrared underfloor heating can be created with heating film laid under laminate flooring. It does not require major demolition, in one apartment the work can be finished in as little as a day, and the heating can be controlled room by room.

Solar panels on an existing house

Solar panels can be installed on an existing house afterwards as well. When this article was published, several support programmes helped such investments, and because of the high demand, installers often could only commit to installation in 2023. Those programmes have since closed; a separate article covers the fate of the most recent battery-storage grant.

Summary

The picture that heating with electricity is always expensive can no longer be generalised. Modern electric heating based on the radiant principle delivers comfortable warmth quickly, can be controlled room by room, and combined with solar panels its electricity cost can be reduced as well. What you can expect in your own house, we plan on the basis of an on-site survey. Typical consumption values are shown on our consumption page. Installation is available in Hungary.