Heidenfeld infrared heater running cost

Updated: 22 October 2026

A Heidenfeld infrared heater running cost question is usually a wattage question in disguise. You want to know how many pence an hour a 450 W panel or a 2000 W patio tube adds before you leave it on through an evening. The brand on the box does not change the arithmetic. Any electric heater at the same watts, on the same tariff, costs the same per hour while it is drawing that power. Infrared marketing lines do not cut the unit rate. The models and prices are on the Heidenfeld infrared heater comparison. Figures are GBP from amazon.co.uk on 20 October 2026. Peter F. checked the listings. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. This is not a lab test.

Our top picks

Badge	Product	Listing watts	At 26 p/kWh	Job	Note	Price	Offer
Best overall	SOUTHEATIC SOUTHEATIC 3000 W wall heater	3000 W	about 78p an hour	Large wall seating	9.6	about £179.97	View offer
	Harrier Harrier 2000 W patio heater	2000 W	about 52p an hour	Sheltered patio	9.0	about £48.99	View offer
Best value	Könighaus Könighaus Smart Dual 450 W	450 W	about 12p an hour	Desk or one spot	7.8	about £99.90	View offer

Best overall

SOUTHEATIC SOUTHEATIC 3000 W wall heater

9.6/10about £179.97

View offer

Rank 2

Harrier Harrier 2000 W patio heater

9.0/10about £48.99

View offer

Best value

Könighaus Könighaus Smart Dual 450 W

7.8/10about £99.90

View offer

On this page

1.The calculation is watts, then your unit rate
2.What the heaters in this comparison cost per hour
3.Thermostats and timers change hours, not the unit rate
4.How this compares with gas and with a heat pump

The calculation is watts, then your unit rate

Divide the heater’s wattage by 1,000 to get kilowatts. Multiply by the unit rate on your bill in pence per kilowatt-hour. That product is the cost of one hour at full output. A 1,000 W heater is 1 kW. At 26 p/kWh it is 26 p for each hour it actually draws 1,000 W. A 2,000 W heater is 2 kW, so 52 p an hour on the same illustration. There is no extra infrared discount in that sum. The 26 p/kWh figure used on this page is a round rule of thumb so the examples stay comparable. It is not your tariff, not an Ofgem cap frozen on 20 October 2026, and not a Northern Ireland rate. Open the unit rate on your latest bill, ignore the standing charge for this sum, and repeat the multiplication. If your rate is 24 p, a 1,000 W heater is 24 p an hour. If it is 30 p, it is 30 p. The heater you choose does not change that price. Only a different tariff, a different wattage, or fewer hours does. On that same 26 p illustration, 450 W is about 12 p an hour, 800 W about 21 p, 1,200 W about 31 p and 3,000 W about 78 p, if the heater runs continuously at the stated output.

What the heaters in this comparison cost per hour

Use the listing wattage, not a comfort guess. The Könighaus Smart Dual 450 W at about £99.90 is about 12 p an hour at the illustrative rate. Four hours under a desk is about 48 p in units. The 800 W Smart Dual at about £169.90 is about 21 p an hour, so those same four hours are about 84 p. A 1,000 W draw, which is the high step on the Warmlite tower (about £56.46), the Byekalt panel (about £139.99) and the Hocosyme listing (about £149.99), is 26 p an hour, or about £1.04 across four hours. Patio heaters jump because the watts jump. The Devola 1,200 W and the portable SOUTHEATIC 1,200 W are about 31 p an hour. The Harrier 2,000 W at about £48.99 and the SOUTHEATIC 2,000 W wall bar at about £99.99 are about 52 p an hour. Three hours of a covered dinner on the Harrier is about £1.56 before the standing charge. The SOUTHEATIC 3,000 W wall heater at about £179.97 is about 78 p an hour, so the same three hours are about £2.34. The cheap purchase can be the dear evening if you buy 2,000 W to save on the sticker and then run it longer than a 450 W panel would have run indoors. Those are different jobs, which is why the buying guide separates them. SONBION’s 800 W halogen at about £39.95 sits near 21 p an hour on the high setting. A review that says a tower costs about 10 p an hour only fits a lower step, a cheaper unit rate, or a heater that is cycling off. It is not a second tariff.

Testsieger

SOUTHEATIC SOUTHEATIC 3000 W wall heater

9.6/10about £179.97

View offer

Thermostats and timers change hours, not the unit rate

A thermostat switches the heater off when its sensor is satisfied and on when it is not. If a 2,000 W patio or panel heater is drawing power for half an hour in each clock hour, you pay for 1 kWh in that hour, about 26 p at the illustrative rate, not for 52 p. You have not made electricity cheaper. You have bought fewer units. A timer that runs a gazebo heater from 7 pm to 9.30 pm does the same job with a clock instead of a sensor. The Könighaus Smart Dual listings include a thermostat, a remote and Wi-Fi. That is useful if you actually set a schedule and if the sensor is near the place you sit. Owners of the 450 W model often treat the app or thermostat reading as unreliable for the whole room, and the surface runs hot, so do not assume the panel will short-cycle just because a number on the phone looks high. A heater that stays on because the sensor is in a cold corner will cost the full rate. Outdoor tubes rarely include a room thermostat suited to a house, and they should not be used to learn an indoor set-point.

How this compares with gas and with a heat pump

The Energy Saving Trust’s infrared heating guidance is the UK source to keep in view. Electricity costs several times as much as gas for the same amount of energy, on the order of four times in their comparison, so an infrared panel is a poor whole-house replacement for a gas boiler even when the panel itself turns nearly all of its electricity into heat. Every electric resistance heater shares that limit. A heat pump can move more heat per unit of electricity than a panel can, which is a different purchase and a different install, not a setting on these amazon.co.uk listings. Where infrared can still make sense is top-up heat for the person in the beam: a desk, a chair, a sheltered table. You might run 450 W for three hours instead of heating every room. That can be a smaller bill than boosting the whole house, and it can also leave the air and the walls cooler, which is why the same guidance mentions condensation risk if you rely on people-heating in a damp home. It does not make the 2,000 W patio tube cheaper than gas per kilowatt-hour. How that tube is mounted is on the Heidenfeld patio infrared heater page.

Common questions

How much does a 2000 W heater cost per hour?

At an illustrative 26 p/kWh, 2,000 W is 2 kW and about 52 p for each hour at full output. Three hours is about £1.56 in units. Your bill’s unit rate replaces 26 p. A thermostat that runs the heater for half the time brings that clock hour nearer 26 p. It does not change the price of each unit.

Is infrared cheaper than gas in the UK?

Not on unit rate. The Energy Saving Trust describes electricity as several times the cost of gas for the same energy, around four times in that comparison. An infrared panel can still be a reasonable top-up for one occupied spot. It is not a cheaper way to heat a whole house than gas central heating, and a 98 per cent bullet does not overturn that.

Do thermostats halve the bill?

They can halve the hours of full draw if the heater really is off half the time. They do not halve the unit rate. A 450 W panel that runs flat out for four hours is still about 48 p at 26 p/kWh. If the room is so cold that the panel never switches off, you pay the full hour. Check whether the sensor represents the seat you use.

What does a patio evening cost?

A 2,000 W Harrier or SOUTHEATIC bar for three hours is about £1.56 at 26 p/kWh. A 3,000 W SOUTHEATIC wall heater for three hours is about £2.34. A 1,200 W Devola for three hours is about 94 p. Add nothing for being infrared, and add the standing charge only once a day for the whole home, not once per heater.

What does a 450 W panel cost at a desk?

About 12 p an hour at 26 p/kWh, or about 48 p across a four-hour afternoon. The 800 W Smart Dual is about 21 p an hour on the same illustration. If the panel cycles off, you pay less. If reviews are right that it is only for a small spot, you should not plan these pence as the cost of heating an open-plan room.

Are Warmlite reviews that say 10 p an hour realistic?

Only in a narrow case. The Warmlite high step is 1,000 W, which is 26 p an hour at the illustrative rate, or 13 p an hour on the 500 W step if it never cycles. A 10 p claim needs a lower unit rate, the low step, or time switched off. Treat it as a comment, not as your tariff.

Best Heidenfeld infrared heater