TL;DR:

  • Infrared panels are 100% efficient at converting electricity to heat — but so are storage heaters and panel heaters; the difference is how heat is delivered, not generated
  • Running costs are materially higher than a heat pump (which achieves 300–400% efficiency) but may suit specific home types where heat pump installation is impractical
  • Best cases: well-insulated flats, rooms that need occasional supplemental heat, off-grid properties, and landlords facing regulatory pressure to remove gas

Infrared heating panels appear regularly in social media content claiming they’re cheaper than gas and revolutionary for UK homes. The reality is more nuanced. They’re a legitimate heating technology with specific use cases where they make sense — and a lot of use cases where they don’t. Here’s what the numbers actually look like.

How Infrared Heating Works

Conventional electric radiators and storage heaters heat air, which then circulates around a room through convection. Infrared panels emit radiant heat — electromagnetic radiation in the far-infrared spectrum — that directly warms objects and people rather than the air. The practical effect is that you feel warm more quickly, and heat doesn’t immediately escape when a door opens.

The important technical note: infrared panels are 100% electrically efficient. Every unit of electricity becomes heat. But so does every other direct electric heating product. The efficiency advantage claimed for infrared is about perceived comfort (faster warmth, reduced draughts) not about generating more heat per unit of electricity.

A heat pump, by contrast, moves existing heat from outdoor air rather than generating it from electricity. Modern air source heat pumps achieve a coefficient of performance (COP) of 3.0–4.0 in UK conditions — meaning one unit of electricity produces 3–4 units of heat. That’s the gap infrared panels can’t close.

Running Costs at UK Electricity Prices

At the current UK electricity price cap rate of approximately 24p/kWh (July 2026), heating costs stack up as follows:

Infrared panel (1kW panel, 100% efficient): 1 kWh of heat costs 24p.

Gas boiler (assuming 85% efficiency at current gas price ~7p/kWh): 1 kWh of heat costs approximately 8.2p.

Air source heat pump (3.0 COP): 1 kWh of heat costs 8p.

For typical UK heating demand of around 12,000–15,000 kWh per year for a semi-detached home, running exclusively on infrared panels at 24p/kWh would cost roughly £2,880–£3,600 per year. A gas boiler would cost around £984–£1,230. A heat pump would be similar to gas at today’s prices.

The infrared vs gas comparison is not competitive at current UK energy prices. Electricity is approximately three times the price of gas per kWh, and no efficiency mechanism closes that gap for direct electric heating.

Where Infrared Panels Do Make Sense

Well-insulated flats and apartments. In a well-insulated modern flat with low heat demand (say 3,000–5,000 kWh/year), the absolute cost difference between gas and infrared is smaller, and the installation cost and complexity of any wet heating system may not be justified. An infrared panel system can be installed by an electrician without building work.

Rooms with intermittent use. Infrared panels heat quickly and are efficient for short bursts. A home office used a few hours per day, a spare bedroom used occasionally, or a bathroom requiring fast top-up heat are reasonable applications.

Off-grid properties. Homes without mains gas and located where heat pump installation is challenging (very remote, restricted access, planning constraints) face a choice between oil, LPG, or electric. Infrared is competitive with oil and LPG on cost and significantly simpler to install and maintain.

Landlords seeking gas-free solutions. Properties with EPC requirements that mandate gas boiler replacement but where communal heating or structural issues prevent heat pump installation are a real edge case where landlords consider infrared.

Supplemental heating. Adding infrared panels to a heat pump system for rooms that run cold, or for use during extreme cold snaps when heat pump efficiency drops, is a reasonable application.

The Claims to Treat Sceptically

“Infrared heats the room with 50% less energy.” This typically refers to perceived comfort (you feel warmer at a lower air temperature) not actual energy consumption. If you maintain the same comfort level, you’re using similar total energy.

“Infrared heats the fabric of the building, reducing damp.” There’s evidence that infrared reduces surface condensation in some configurations, which can reduce damp. But this is a secondary benefit, not a heating efficiency mechanism.

“No heat loss when windows are open.” This is partly true — infrared doesn’t rely on hot air, so opening a window doesn’t immediately lose all your heat in the way it does with convection heating. But you still lose heat through the open window; objects cool down eventually.

Installation and Product Considerations

Infrared panels are available from roughly £150 for basic 600W panels to £600+ for larger, thermostatic, WiFi-controlled models. Installation is straightforward if you have adequate electrical circuits — most panels are plug-in or connect to a standard 13A socket, though dedicated circuits are recommended for always-on use.

Look for panels with built-in thermostats and timer controls. Without them, running cost control relies entirely on manual switching. Brands with UK-specific thermostatic controls and good warranty terms: Herschel, Infrared4Life, and BPC Heating have established reputations in the UK market.

For whole-home heating, you’ll need to size panels per room based on room volume and insulation level. Most manufacturers provide calculators, but treat them as starting points — heavily glazed rooms will need more capacity than the simple volume calculation suggests.

The Honest Verdict

Infrared panels are not a cheaper alternative to gas for most UK homes. They’re an electrically efficient, installation-simple option for specific scenarios: small well-insulated spaces, intermittent use rooms, off-grid properties, and situations where wet heating systems aren’t viable. If you’re choosing between a gas boiler replacement and infrared for whole-home heating, a heat pump will almost always be cheaper to run — and with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant still available, often comparable or lower in installation cost too.

The technology works as advertised. The marketing around it sometimes doesn’t.