Eight alternatives to gas boilers – and whether they can save you money

Like it or not, the way we heat our homes is changing as Britain is dragged kicking and screaming into a greener future. 

Most houses in the UK use gas boilers, but consultations suggest installing gas boilers could be banned by 2033 as part of the Government’s drive to decarbonise homes.

Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, and others have recently suggested the Government is forcing change too fast. But there hasn’t (yet) been any official relaxation of the net zero targets – and costs – that are falling on ordinary consumers.

Until that changes, home owners need to consider alternative ways to heat their homes and hot water. Some of these technologies have existed for years, while others are still being trialled.

Here, Telegraph Money covers the various gas boiler alternatives – and whether or not installing one will save you money.

Air source heat pumps

Heat pumps have emerged as the Government’s silver bullet to the energy crisis, and look set to be the future of heating in Britain.

By 2028, ministers want 600,000 of them to be installed in British homes every year. There are £5,000 grants available from the Government as long as the new system meets minimum requirements.

How do they work?

Heat pumps absorb heat from the environment and pump it around your home using electricity, which is greener than using gas.

If installed correctly, they are significantly more efficient than traditional boilers and can reduce household energy use.

Will it work in my home?

The Government has developed a heat pump suitability calculator for households to check if installing one would be suitable for your home.

Most will need to upgrade larger radiators to work on heat pump systems, which can come with a high upfront cost (a five-bedroom house could cost up to £2,900 to upgrade).

Do they save you money?

Heat pumps combine well with other green upgrades that use electricity, like batteries and solar panels.

Households that have already made significant efficiency improvements stand to gain the most from installing a heat pump.

Costs for the units vary – and some energy providers now offer heat pumps for the same price as a gas boiler.

Whether they save you money year-on-year depends on the heating system you are replacing: switching out an A-rated gas boiler (the most efficient available) saves £115 a year, according to the Energy Saving Trust, but switching an A-rated oil boiler actually costs £130 a year.

Ground source heat pumps

Though less common than their air source counterparts, ground source heat pumps are included in the Government’s net zero targets. Households that opt for one can claim a slightly larger grant of £6,000.

How do they work?

Ground source heat pumps draw heat from the ground by circulating fluid through buried pipework, with a heat exchanger indoors then raising the temperature further and transferring the heat to water.

Can I install one?

Unlike air source heat pumps, the ground source models must be buried outside, typically in a garden, meaning not all households will be able to use one.

Do they save you money?

The cost of installing a ground source heat pump tends to be far higher to account for the cost of burying the pipework.

Analysis by the Energy Saving Trust suggested ground source heat pumps save fractionally more money over the year than their air source equivalents, but country homes in colder climates will save more.

“It would be easier to justify the added cost of a ground source heat pump the further north you live,” the charity said.

District heating

How does it work?

Sometimes referred to as a “heat network”, district heating uses a singular central heat source to distribute hot water through a network of pipes to multiple dwellings.

Other European countries make far greater use of this communal system of generating power. 

Can I install it?

Whether a household can install district heating is not up to them, but it has been adopted by some large-scale buildings in Britain. However, they are not yet very popular – accounting for just 2pc of the UK’s heat generation.

Does it save you money?

District heating systems are cheaper, on average, as the heat is generated in a central plant rather than in individual households. However, the fact remains that most homes will not be able to install one themselves.

Oil boilers

Oil boilers are common in rural homes that have not yet been connected to the gas grid. The Government is pressing ahead with plans to phase out the environmentally unfriendly technology. 

How do they work?

Oil boilers work similarly to gas boilers. The fuel is ignited in the combustion chamber to warm up cold water. 

Can I install one?

Oil boilers are typically only used in rural properties without access to the gas grid.

From 2026, however, households will be banned from replacing oil boilers like-for-like, leaving them no choice but to switch to electric heating solutions such as heat pumps.

Do they save you money?

Rather than pay monthly for their energy use, as with gas, oil-reliant households order the fuel themselves.

Naturally, the price of such fuel fluctuates with wholesale market prices and is not protected by energy regulator Ofgem’s price cap.

However, efficient oil boilers are cheaper to run than even heat pumps, according to the Energy Saving Trust – A-rated models save £130 a year compared to heat pumps.

Hydrogen boilers

Much has been said of plans to use hydrogen as a greener alternative to natural gas. However, such plans have been marred by setbacks as homeowners worry over their safety.

How do they work?

Hydrogen boilers work the same way as gas boilers, only burning hydrogen instead of natural gas.

Can I install one?

Boilers billed as hydrogen-ready are already on the market. However, whether they will actually use hydrogen depends on whether the gas is used on the grid.

The outlook is not optimistic for hydrogen: just last week a trial in Liverpool was scrapped after pushback from locals. In the meantime, hydrogen-ready boilers will simply use natural gas.

Do they save you money?

Until hydrogen is adopted more widely it is impossible to say definitively how much money could be saved by a switch.

However, households could be hit with an estimated £120 annual levy to fund the development of low-carbon hydrogen under provisions in the Government’s incoming Energy Bill.

Electric radiators

Much like heat pumps, electric radiators do not run on gas at all and can be used for “zonal heating”, meaning households can more easily choose which rooms to heat – and to which temperature.

How do they work?

Electric radiators are filled with either a thermal fluid or dry elements which heat up and transfer warmth to the air.

They do not rely on a plumbing network and instead use electricity, making them a potentially greener heating solution to gas, provided the electricity is generated from a renewable source.

Can I install them?

It is important to remember these are not plug-in radiators – electric radiator systems are wired into a home by an electrician.

They are fairly easy to set up and can be controlled remotely. However, homes with poor electrical infrastructure may risk power cuts. Naturally, they also will not provide you with hot water.

Do they save you money?

Defenders of electric radiators claim they are 100pc efficient at the point of use – and are compatible with other renewable appliances such as solar panels and batteries.

However, the unit cost of electricity per kWh is far higher than for gas, meaning they are more expensive to run than gas boilers unless you are using solar panels to offset the cost.

Immersion heaters

All electric households opting for electric radiators may choose to pair them with an immersion heater, which also runs on electricity and can be used to heat water. Some households have an immersion heater on hand in case their central heating fails.

How do they work?

Immersion heaters work similarly to kettles. The heater itself sits in a large tank of water and is powered by a strong electric current. The heater, when switched on, then heats the water to a designated temperature, so it can be used for showers, baths and washing up.

Can I install one?

Naturally, such a vast amount of water requires space for a large tank. It is best to speak to a professional as to whether your property is suitable.

It is also worth noting that an immersion heater robs you of hot water on demand: if the water runs out or you forget to turn it on you will not be able to have a hot shower.

Do they save you money?

According to Clever Energy Boilers, a heating engineering firm, a typical household with an immersion heater spends roughly £300 a year just on heating water for two hours a day.

As with electric radiators, the high cost of electricity per unit is a barrier.

LPG boilers

As oil boilers are phased out in areas where infrastructure is slow to catch up, calls are mounting for the Government to consider liquid petroleum gas – a greener and more efficient but not fully renewable fuel type.

How do they work?

Much like oil boilers, LPG boilers run on tanks of fuel and they are typically cheaper to purchase.

Can I install one?

LPG boilers are more suited to homes not covered by the gas grid. Unlike oil boilers, LPG boilers are not affected by the aforementioned 2026 phase-out date.

Do they save you money?

For homes already using an oil boiler, an LPG boiler will prove more expensive. This is because the fuel is sold at a higher price per unit than oil.

Do you have any of these boiler alternatives? Let us know in the comment below