4 Reasons Electric Heating Is Greener Than Gas Heating

Electric heating can be more environmentally friendly than gas heating because electricity can also be produced from renewable sources, whereas natural gas is fossil and finite; part of the electricity can be produced at home with solar panels, and there is no combustion in the house. How much greener it is depends on the source of the electricity, the insulation of the house and the control of the heating – which is why we write down the limits next to the four reasons.

Many people still believe that electric heating has no environmental advantage over gas. Over the past 100 years technology has developed enormously and people's lives have become more comfortable – but the price was a burden on the atmosphere. In the 21st century more and more households and companies try to change this with renewable energy and the electrification of heating. If you would also like to reduce your ecological footprint, it is worth thinking through the arguments below.

1. Electricity can come from renewable sources

The electricity used for heating can be produced from solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal and biomass energy. These sources emit no or only little carbon dioxide during production, so heat obtained from such electricity burdens the atmosphere less. Many countries – such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden and Finland – have for years been building large wind and solar capacity to reduce their emissions.

The limit: electricity drawn from the grid is still not fully renewable, and the mix varies by country and from year to year. How it stands in Hungary and what this means for heating we present, with statistical data, in our article on environmentally friendly electric heating.

2. Natural gas is fossil and finite

The natural gas used for heating is a fossil fuel: it formed over millions of years, and what we burn is not replenished. The energy of the Sun, wind and water is inexhaustible on a human scale – the Sun will also burn out one day, but in billions of years. Gas has important uses outside heating, in industry and energy production, so where it can be replaced, it is worth replacing so that the supply goes to the most important purposes. Heating has an alternative.

The limit: there are differing forecasts as to when natural gas and oil reserves will run out, and these change as new deposits are discovered. The argument is therefore based not on a deadline but on the fact that fossil reserves are finite.

3. Part of the electricity for heating can be produced at home

Gas cannot be produced on the roof of a house, but electricity can. A household solar system can supply part of the electricity used for heating from a renewable source, and we also decide when and how much to heat. Solar panels can reduce the electricity cost of heating, but the size of the saving depends on the settlement method. Since 1 January 2024, gross metering applies to new household solar systems in Hungary: electricity fed into the grid and electricity drawn from the grid are measured and settled separately. Net metering can remain only for those who submitted the request by September 2023 and commission the system by 1 January 2026 – for 10 years at most. Moreover, there is less sunshine in the heating season, so the larger part of the heating electricity then comes from the grid.

The limit: in cost, electric heating is not the cheapest everywhere. Residential gas in the preferential band is typically cheaper energy than electricity, and a heat pump also uses the heat of the environment, so for the same amount of heat it consumes far less electricity than an infrared panel. You will find fresh figures in our cost comparison of heat pumps and infrared heating.

4. There is no combustion in the house, and electricity generation is getting cleaner

With gas heating, emissions arise twice: once when the gas is extracted, transported and processed, and once in the boiler when we burn it – the carbon dioxide from the latter goes into the atmosphere directly from the chimney of the house. With electric heating there is no combustion in the house, emissions arise only when the electricity is produced, and their size depends on the source: small for electricity from solar, wind, hydro or nuclear plants, significant for electricity from coal or gas plants. As energy production builds on more and more renewable sources, the indirect emissions of electric heating also fall.

The limit: how much smaller the total emissions of electric heating are than those of a gas boiler depends on the energy mix, the heat loss of the house and the control of the heating – so we do not give a general ratio. Emissions are smaller the better insulated the house is and the more precisely the heating is controlled: the thermostat and timing matter a great deal here too.

What can you do if you want to heat greener?

• First reduce heat loss: insulation, windows and doors.
• Choose heating that can be controlled room by room, and heat only where people are.
• If possible, produce part of the electricity with solar panels.
• Also calculate the total cost – the environmental benefit is lasting if the heating remains affordable in the long term.

We discuss the environmental impact of heating methods together with other criteria in our criterion-by-criterion comparison, and the advantages and limits of electric heating compared with gas in a separate article; you can read about the types of electric heating on our electric heating page.