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Electric heater running cost: 39p, 53p, or 58p an hour

Updated: 21 October 2026

You want a figure in pence before you leave a heater on for the evening, and the labels on the box talk about ECO and coverage instead. Electric heater running cost, for every heater in this comparison, is the kilowatts it draws times the unit rate you pay, times the hours the element is actually on. The [electric heater comparison](/hub/portable-heaters/electric-heater) does not pick a winner here. This page does the sum at the Ofgem rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026, then says what a thermostat changes and what it does not. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Heater watts are listing labels, not a lab meter.

You want a figure in pence before you leave a heater on for the evening, and the labels on the box talk about ECO and coverage instead.

Our top picks

Pro Breeze Pro Breeze ThermaCube 2200 W

Best overall

Pro Breeze Pro Breeze ThermaCube 2200 W
7.4/10about £61.74
View offer
Dreo Dreo Atom 316 1500 W (White)

Rank 2

Dreo Dreo Atom 316 1500 W (White)
9.2/10about £42.49
View offer
CUQOO CUQOO DYN12000 2 kW

Best value

CUQOO CUQOO DYN12000 2 kW
8.4/10about £11.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The sum
  2. 2.What a thermostat changes
  3. 3.ECO, Lot 20, and the 50% claim
  4. 4.One room versus the whole house

The sum

Ofgem’s average direct-debit rate for England, Scotland, and Wales from 1 October to 31 December 2026 is 26.32p per kilowatt-hour. The standing charge is about 54.83p a day and does not rise because you own a heater. Northern Ireland is outside this cap. If your bill shows another unit price, swap that number in. Full output for one hour is about 26p at 1 kW, about 39p at 1.5 kW, about 53p at 2 kW, and about 58p at 2.2 kW. That is 1.5 times 26.32p (39.48p) and 2 times 26.32p (52.64p). A white Dreo titled 1500 W is the 39p row. A CUQOO on high is the 53p row. The Pro Breeze title says 2200 W, the 58p row if it draws that label.

What a thermostat changes

A thermostat does not cut the price per kilowatt-hour. It cuts the minutes at full power. A 2000 W heater flat out for 60 minutes is near 53p. Twenty minutes, then a cycle, is those minutes plus whatever it draws while it tops up. The Centre for Sustainable Energy’s point is the same: a thermostat can reduce what you spend, and not by a fixed percent. The white Dreo claims 5–35 °C. The Warmlite fans have a dial, not a scale you can read as 18 °C. Two hours at 1500 W on full output is about 79p, and two hours at 2000 W is about £1.06. If the element draws for only half that time, you are nearer the one-hour figure. Who has a degree scale is on the best electric heater page.
Pro Breeze Pro Breeze ThermaCube 2200 W

Testsieger

Pro Breeze Pro Breeze ThermaCube 2200 W
7.4/10about £61.74
View offer

ECO, Lot 20, and the 50% claim

ECO on these listings means a lower watt setting, not a cheaper unit rate. The Dreo DR-HSH003 bullet describes 900 W and 1100 W before high. At 26.32p/kWh that is about 24p and about 29p for a full hour, only while the heater stays on those steps. If it climbs to the 2000 W title, you are back on the 53p row. An up-to-50% line on the Philips page is not a reason to halve 53p. The 36% seasonal-efficiency floor is a market rule, not wasted electricity, and it does not change the arithmetic above.

One room versus the whole house

One room for a limited time can cost less than heating every room, and a high-wattage fan left on for a long time can wipe that out. That is the Centre for Sustainable Energy’s condition. An oil-filled radiator can spend fewer minutes on because the case stays warm. None of the twelve listings is oil-filled. The type choice is on the fan heater versus oil-filled radiator page. The unit rate is Ofgem’s published average.

Common questions

How much does a 2 kW electric heater cost per hour?
At 26.32p per kWh, a heater drawing 2 kW for a full hour uses 2 kWh and costs about 53p. That is the Ofgem direct-debit average for England, Scotland, and Wales from 1 October to 31 December 2026. It assumes full output for the whole hour. A thermostat that cycles the element means you pay for fewer minutes, so 53p is the ceiling for that hour, not a guaranteed bill.
Is a 1500 W ceramic heater cheaper to run than a 2000 W fan heater?
Yes, while both are on full output, because 1.5 kW is about 39p an hour and 2 kW is about 53p at the same unit rate. The ceramic element does not create the gap. The watts do. If the 1500 W heater runs for longer to reach the same warmth, the gap shrinks. If the 2000 W fan cycles on a thermostat, it can cost less than the label hour.
Does a thermostat lower the bill?
It can, by switching the element off once the room reaches the setpoint. It does not lower the price of each kilowatt-hour. A 2000 W heater that is on for 20 minutes costs about a third of the 53p full hour, as a rule of thumb, and the real share depends on how often it tops up. No fixed percentage is promised. A dial without degrees can still cycle. You just cannot see the target.
Does ECO mode halve the cost?
Not as a rule. On the Dreo DR-HSH003, the ECO bullet claims 900 W and 1100 W steps, which are about 24p and 29p an hour at 26.32p/kWh if those steps are what the heater draws. That is less than 53p, and it is not half of every bill, because the heater can still go to high. Halve the cost only if you have halved the kilowatt-hours.
What if I am in Northern Ireland or on a fixed tariff?
The 26.32p figure is the Great Britain price-cap average for this quarter. Northern Ireland is outside that cap, so use the unit rate on your own bill. A fixed tariff can be above or below the cap. Keep the same multiplication: kilowatts times your pence times hours on. The table is a worked example, not a quote for every postcode.

Related pages

Electric heater buying guide

Electric heater

Best electric heater: desk, bedroom, or a quiet room

How to use an electric heater: plug, smell, unplug

Fan heater vs oil filled radiator: speed or stored

Sources

Public UK sources for the plug, clearance, the seasonal-efficiency rule, bathroom zones, and the unit rate. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures in this set, checked on 19 October 2026.

  1. Electrical Safety First — Portable heaters (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. Ofgem — Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK — Placing energy-related products on the UK market (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. Regulation (EU) 2015/1188 — local space heaters (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, regulation 35 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 notes (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Intertek — BEAB product certification mark (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. SELECT — BS 7671 Section 701 pocket guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)