UK households hit with £368 charge for using electric fireplace

Households using an electric fire in their fireplace this winter have been warned over a £368 charge.

With winter fast approaching and thoughts turning once again to heating and keeping houses warm, everyone is wondering about how to keep energy costs down.

And with chimney rules in Smoke Control Areas possibly leading to a £300 fine for using a real fire - or a £1,000 fine for using the wrong solid fuel - many households have given up using old heating methods and have instead opted for a modern electric fire.

Electric fires can take various forms: sometimes they are installed in a fireplace to replace what was there, other times they can be a portable unit that's moved around the room, but both cost a similar amount to run.

But an electric fire brings with it its own charges. Although you won’t risk a chimney smoke fine for using an electric fire, the average electric fireplace costs £184 a year in charges on your energy bill according to new data from Utilita.

Energy supplier Utilita shared with the Express how much everyday items cost to run at home, and an electric fireplace came in at £184 a year on average.

That’s just an average, of course, so for some households it may cost even more.

The energy supplier’s figures show that an electric fire costs an average of £1 per use, assuming four hours use at a time.

Leaving it switched on for 8 hours instead would double that to £2 per use, or £368 a year, assuming it’s used 185 times per year, or basically every day in winter.

And from October 1, energy prices are going up 10 percent thanks to Ofgem raising the price cap, so the real cost will be even higher this winter.

There are ways to try to mitigate the cost. Endeavour Fires says: “When shopping for an electric fireplace, keep an eye out for models with energy saving features such as: Adjustable thermostats; Flame-only settings; Variable heat settings; Timer functions; Eco modes; LED technology.”