Tool
Heating cost reality
UK heating is a real line on the budget. The headline is the Ofgem price cap (Q4 2025: roughly 22–25p/kWh gas, 25p/kWh electric), but the real lever is your home: an old G-rated detached house can run four times the cost of a new C-rated flat. Pick your property, fuel, EPC and region to estimate the annual heating bill.
Ofgem price cap Q4 2025 levels used here: ~22p/kWh gas, ~25p/kWh electricity. Cap is reviewed quarterly. Standing charges and VAT are included in the standard Ofgem average.
What this solves
Most energy cost pages focus on the unit rate. The real difference between a £900-a-year bill and a £2,400-a-year bill is the kWh your home actually uses, which is a function of size, fabric, EPC and how cold the winters are. The tool combines all four into one number so the comparison is direct.
How to read the result
- Estimated annual heating bill is the £ figure you can expect, mid-band, for a normal-use year.
- UK-average household comparison uses Ofgem's typical-domestic-use figure of about £1,500–£1,700 for 2025.
- Predicted extra vs average is the gap in £ terms — the actual pressure on the budget.
- Heat pump figures assume a COP of ~3.0; a poorly installed or oversized system can halve this.
What it doesn't cover
- Hot water heating — only the heating share is modelled here.
- Off-peak tariffs (Economy 7, heat-pump time-of-use). These shift cost between day and night, not usually the total.
- Heat-network (communal) heating charges — billing structures differ.
- Future cap movements past Q4 2025 — Ofgem re-caps every quarter.
FAQ
How much does heating cost in the UK?
Ofgem's typical-domestic-use figure for 2025 is around £1,500–£1,700 a year. The spread is wide: a small, well-insulated flat might run £500–£700; a cold-climate detached on oil can run £3,000+. The single biggest predictor is EPC and property size, not the unit rate.
Oil vs gas — which is cheaper?
On a per-kWh delivered basis, mains gas is consistently cheaper than heating oil in the UK. Oil has a higher p/kWh but is sold in bulk, which masks delivery and maintenance costs. Off-gas rural properties have no choice but to use oil, LPG or a heat pump.
Do heat pumps really save money?
In a well-insulated home (C-rated or better) running on a time-of-use tariff, an air-source heat pump typically cuts running costs by 30–50% vs gas. In a leaky older property, the savings are smaller and the install cost much harder to recover. A heat pump is not a financial win if your home loses heat as fast as you add it.
What is the cheapest way to lower the bill?
Loft insulation to 270mm, draught-proofing doors and windows, and a thermostatic radiator valve set to 18°C in unused rooms. These three typically cut a C-rated home's bill by 15–25% and pay back in 1–3 years. After that, secondary glazing and wall insulation are the next tier.
Sources
- Ofgem — Default tariff cap levels, Q4 2025 (gas and electricity unit rates).
- UK government — Domestic EPC register methodology and rating bands.
- BEIS sub-national gas and electricity consumption statistics.