Electric Boiler Guide

What is an Electric Boiler?

An Electric Boiler is a Boiler which operates using electricity rather than a combustible fossil fuel such as gas or oil boilers.

Electric Boilers can come in variations such as Electric Combination Boilers, System Boilers and Flow Boilers. Electric Boilers are 100% efficient, meaning if you pay for 1kW of electricity, you will receive 1kW of heat.

Electric Boilers can sometimes be confused with electric water boilers. Electric water boilers are small appliances which are used to boil water for a tea or coffee. An Electric Boiler is a device used to heat your home.

How does an Electric Boiler Work?

Electric Boilers operate by having running water pass through an element, which is heated by electricity. The heating elements within EHC Electric Boilers are designed to maximise surface area. After the water is heated, it then passes through the rest of your home’s heating system and warms your home to a desired temperature.

What are the advantages of an Electric Boiler?

Reduced Maintenance Costs – Other kinds of boilers have more moving parts, which can cause breakdowns in comparison to Electric Boilers which have no moving parts. In heating systems with biomass boilers, wood pellet boilers and other combustion boilers, pipes can sometimes need replacing over time.

Save the Planet – When an electric boiler is running, it has a lower carbon footprint than combustion boilers.

Safety – As there is no combustible fuel within an Electric Boiler, there is no risk of gas leaks and no risk of explosion.

Easy Installation – Electric Boilers are easier to install than other alternatives. There is no requirement for a flue as there is no combustion happening within the boiler. This means that an Electric Boiler can be placed almost anywhere within the property.

Low Installation Costs – As Electric Boilers are fairly simple and easy to install, the overall cost of the installation is much lower than a gas boiler.

How much does an Electric Boiler cost to run?

The running costs of an Electric Boiler vary from home to home. This is due to a number of external factors such as level of insulation, windows, electricity tariff, comfort temperatures and many other factors.

Currently the cost of electricity is higher than that of gas, which inflates the running costs of electric boilers. However, Electric Boilers are more efficient than gas meaning you will receive more actual heat per unit of fuel you pay for.

To help provide accurate details of running costs, we undertook a survey of 96 Properties which have been fitted with a variety of EHC Electric Heating products. You can find details on our findings here