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Is it possible to cheaply heat a house with electricity?

Heating your house with electricity is possible, and it can be surprisingly cost-efficient. Electric heating is usually more expensive than natural gas, but there are a few steps you can take to significantly reduce your electricity bill. Investing in a modern, energy-efficient electric heater can hugely reduce your energy costs, as well as keep your house warm for many years. If you have the means, you can also install a heat pump which utilizes air outside of your home to heat the inside of your house. Heat pumps are highly efficient, and with the right installation and maintenance, they can also provide effective cooling and dehumidification. Ultimately, there are a variety of ways to heat your house with electricity with comparative cost-effectiveness.

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Is it possible to heat a house with electricity cheaply? When using autonomous systems, the problem of money costs is especially relevant. When building a house, the question of the financial feasibility of using electric heating systems in comparison with other types of heating devices is sharply discussed. Let’s understand this issue.

Heating the house with an electric boiler

Expensive heating with direct heating systems

Heating systems using electrical energy are divided into two main groups according to the principle of operation – direct and indirect heating. The first include devices that, with the help of heating elements, directly raise the air temperature in the premises..

Direct heating systems include:

  • convectors;
  • warm floor;
  • oil radiators;
  • infrared panels.

Electric underfloor heating in the bathroom

In most cases, electric heaters with a direct system of operation consume a large amount of energy, which does not allow them to be classified as economical heaters. The only exceptions are infrared panels, but their installation and operation are associated with a number of stringent requirements, including safety issues, which significantly limit the use of these devices.

The advantage of direct type heaters, in addition to their low price, is that there is no need to install a boiler, heating system pipelines and radiators.

The advantages of heaters include the possibility of flexible temperature control in different rooms, and the autonomous connection of such systems to the mains. Nevertheless, against the background of the high cost of operation, the advantages of these devices are leveled out when it comes to the need for constant heating of housing..

Benefits and cost of boiler heating

Indirect heating systems increase the temperature of the coolant (in most cases, water plays its role). The air is then heated by the battery radiator components. To put it simply, the system is an electric boiler through which a coolant is passed, which then flows through pipelines to heating radiators. By the way, any other boiler can be replaced with an electric one – gas, coal or liquid fuel..

Installing an indirectly heated system is the cheapest option for heating a house using electricity. The most economical, but currently the most expensive are induction boilers, which are heated using electromagnetic waves..

Induction electric boiler VINInduction electric boiler VIN

In addition to such systems, there are other options – boilers with electrodes or a tubular electric heater (TEN). Heating devices equipped with heating elements consume more electrical energy than all the types of boilers mentioned. At the same time, boilers with heating elements are much cheaper..

The advantages of boilers, in addition to the low cost of operation, include such qualities as small dimensions and simple installation, provided that there is an existing heating pipeline system in the house. In addition, the boilers are environmentally safe and operate absolutely silently..

Electric boiler Cospel

Consider the consumption indicator of heating boilers. So, for one residential building with an area of ​​about one hundred square meters during the heating season, the level of heat consumption is 10 kWh, the production of which accounts for 10.3 kWh of electric energy (the efficiency of boilers is approaching one hundred percent). If the boiler works continuously, then the electricity consumption per day will be about 247 kilowatts, which is equivalent to 7410 kilowatts per month.

In fact, the operating mode of the boiler is not continuous – after the coolant heats up to a certain temperature, the device turns off, energy consumption stops. On average, one hour of boiler operation is downtime. Consequently, energy costs per month will be half of the calculated ones – that is, 3700 kilowatts.

Adjusting the temperature of the heating medium of the electric boiler

The average tariff for electricity in Russia now fluctuates around 4.5 rubles per 1 kWh. Thus, the monthly costs for boiler heating of a house with an area of ​​100 “squares” will amount to 16.5 thousand rubles, but they can be much higher or lower, depending on the specific region..

How to make heating your home with electricity cheaper

There are different ways to achieve savings when using electric home heating systems, but they all boil down to one thing – to reduce the amount of heat generated. First of all, this result can be achieved by eliminating heat losses in the house..

It is necessary to eliminate gaps, cracks, to conduct thermal insulation of the room with the help of insulation. It is guaranteed that metal-plastic windows and doors will help to reduce heat losses, laying the walls of balconies and loggias with heat-insulating material.

Insulation of the attic floor of the house

An important factor in saving thermal energy is the correct choice of heating format. For example, if a house or apartment is well insulated, and the number of rooms is small, then the use of boilers will be justified, since the energy costs for heating the coolant in this case will be small. If we are talking about a house with a large number of premises, including non-residential ones, then their heating can be partially “idle”.

In the case of a large number of rooms, it would be more expedient to use a combined heating scheme. For example, an infrared heater installed in a bathroom can quickly heat a room, therefore, at a time when this room is not actively used, it can be turned off.

Infrared heater in the bathroom

As for the kitchen, it would be logical to use a combined scheme that provides for two heat sources – an infrared panel and a convector. When the owners are not at home, the convector can work at minimum power. If you need to quickly heat the room, the infrared panel turns on and the air temperature rises quickly.

The flexibility of electrical heating systems allows you to create different “profiles” of heating, using the automation of temperature changes. In the absence of the owners of the house, the temperature drops to acceptable minimums – this allows you to minimize the “idle” energy consumption.

MimiSmart Climate ControlClimate control using the “Smart Home” system

An hour before the owners return to the apartment, the controller automatically starts heating the premises and, thus, creates a comfortable temperature for the residents. When setting the “smart” heating mode, both the power and the location of specific heating points are taken into account.

Obviously, the cheapest heating scheme is to connect to a centralized system. Nevertheless, it is necessary to consider all possible options for autonomous heating, both in terms of efficiency and convenience of operation, and the cost of purchasing, installing and operating equipment..

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Comments: 1
  1. Olivia Thompson

    Is it feasible to affordably heat a house using electricity?

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