Is Electric Heating Really Expensive? Modern Building Trends and the Rise of Infrared Heating

In a modern, well-insulated new house, electric heating is not necessarily expensive. Because of low heat loss, the heating energy demand is small, so the weight of investment and maintenance grows relative to the annual energy cost: for many houses a simple, maintenance-free infrared heating system is more sensible than a large, complex mechanical system. Which is worth it depends on the heat demand of the house and on prices – we go through this from the angle of building trends.

In our experience, in recent years more and more people building a new house ask about electric heating, and within it infrared heating. The main reason is the development of thermal insulation technology. In the past a significant part of a house's heat escaped through poorly insulated walls, windows and slabs; the heat loss of modern buildings is small by comparison. For such a house it is worth questioning whether a complicated heating system that needs maintenance, such as a heat pump solution, is necessary at all.

Is electric heating then really expensive, or is that a myth left over from the experience of old, poorly insulated houses? Below we go through the trends, the cost considerations and the installation options.

Why are more and more people choosing electric heating?

Lower heat demand, smaller heating system

The thermal insulation and heat-retaining ability of modern houses have developed to a level where high-output conventional heating is not needed. A house with an A+ or better energy rating can make do with an energy consumption of even 30–50 kWh/m² a year, which means a low heating cost. You can read further professional material on electric heating on the MOEFSZ website too.

The ratio of investment to maintenance

• The complete installation of a natural gas boiler system – boiler, chimney, piping, radiators or underfloor heating – at the time of publication in 2025 could, by our estimate, be as much as HUF 4–6 million.
• The investment cost of a heat pump varies in a wide range depending on the type (air, ground-source, groundwater) and the heat emission system. You will find a comparison calculated with today's prices, together with its assumptions, in the cost comparison of heat pumps and infrared heating.
• An infrared heating system or heating film could be installed for HUF 1.5–3 million at 2025 prices, needs no maintenance, and its energy use can be planned in advance.

Gas and heat pump systems need regular maintenance, the annual fee for which is part of the total cost alongside the investment. With infrared heating this item disappears, so in a comparison look not only at the installation price but at the cost over the whole lifetime.

Electric heating with solar panels

The pairing of solar energy and electric heating is a popular investment. According to the article's calculation of 2025, a solar system of 6–10 kW can produce over a year the heating energy demand of an average house of 100–150 m². Production and consumption, however, do not coincide in time: most electricity is generated in summer, while heating consumes in winter.

That is why the settlement method matters. Newly established household solar systems in Hungary have been on gross metering since 1 January 2024, meaning that electricity fed into the grid and electricity drawn from the grid appear as separate items on the bill. Net metering remained only for systems applied for by September 2023 and commissioned by 1 January 2026, for 10 years at most. Solar panels thus reduce the electricity cost of heating; the size of the saving is worth calculating on the basis of your own consumption profile.

The advantages of electric heating in modern buildings

Electric heating – especially infrared heating – is simpler and cheaper to install and gives comfortable, radiant warmth. The most important points:

• Needs no maintenance: it has no moving parts, chimney, boiler or heat exchanger that would wear or need cleaning.
• Precisely controllable: every room can be controlled with a separate thermostat, so there is no unnecessary energy use.
• Quick to install: in our experience the infrared heating of a whole house can be finished in 1–2 days, whereas installing a heat pump system can take weeks.
• Space-saving: no boiler room or mechanical room is needed, so more living space remains.
• Less dust circulation: infrared panels and heating films do not heat by moving the air, so they stir up less dust than convection heating.

Where and how can electric heating be installed?

Infrared heating and heating film can be used in almost every room and type of building, in new construction and in renovation:

1. As underfloor heating – the most popular solution, because it gives even warmth throughout the room.
2. As ceiling heating – recommended especially in rooms with a low ceiling.
3. As wall heating – space-saving and easy to integrate into the structure of the building.
4. In the bathroom and wellness rooms – a good choice because of quick heating up.
5. In garages, workshops and conservatories – effective where occasional heating is needed.

Summary: why is it worth requesting a technical proposal?

Based on building trends, electric heating in a new house today is not a compromise but a possibility to be seriously considered. In a low-heat-loss house an oversized, complex heating system can be needlessly expensive and maintenance-intensive, whereas infrared heating and heating film are a simple, maintenance-free solution.

If you are building or renovating now, it is worth requesting a technical proposal for electric heating alongside the conventional system, and comparing the two starting from the same heat demand, using the cost over the whole lifetime. Installation is available in Hungary.