What’s the difference between Direct Electric Heating and a Heat Pump?
Direct electric heating and heat pumps are both electric systems, but they behave very differently. One consumes electricity at a 1:1 ratio, the other multiplies it, which leads to major differences in running cost, grid impact, and sustainability.
Direct Electric Heating: What is it?
Direct electric heating includes panel heaters, electric radiators, oil-filled radiators, electric underfloor heating and electric boilers. They follow a simple rule:
1 unit of electricity in = 1 unit of heat out.
Easy to install, expensive to run.
Pros
• Low upfront cost • Simple installation
Cons
• Very high running costs, often 3–5 times higher than a heat pump • Puts strain on the electricity grid • Forces the need for grid upgrades, which ultimately pushes energy prices up • Requires far more solar panels to offset consumption
Heat Pumps: What are they?
A heat pump is an ultra-efficient, all-electric heating system that harvests heat from the air and upgrades it into usable warmth for your home.
This creates an efficiency multiplier:
1 unit of electricity in = 3 to 5 units of heat out.
Pros
• Much lower running costs • Works well with Solar PV - and you don’t need so many Solar panels compared to direct electric heating • No on-site emissions • Provides stable, comfortable heating • A long-term, zero-carbon solution
Cons • Some radiator upgrades may be needed • Planning permission may be required under current laws Most modern heat pumps fall just outside the permitted development size limits, meaning they often require a planning application.
The current planning regulations are inhibitive and need to change. We are actively pressing for these rules to change, because they slow down the island’s transition. In the meantime, a simple planning process is required, and we handle everything for you from drawings to submission, ensuring full compliance with minimal hassle.
Which is cheaper to run?
A heat pump, by a large margin. Direct electric heating gives you no multiplier, so bills rise quickly. A heat pump multiplies every unit of electricity into several units of heat, making it vastly more economical.
Which works best with solar?
Heat pumps.
Solar electricity is multiplied into 3–5 units of heat, giving you:
• low-cost heating • low-cost hot water • higher energy independence • excellent ZEB score • long-term bill protection
Direct electric heating, by contrast, consumes so much electricity that it requires a much larger solar array to offset winter usage.
Which is the smarter long-term choice?
For almost every home in Guernsey: a heat pump.
Direct electric heating is only sensible for tiny spaces, rarely used rooms, or small ultra-efficient buildings. For whole homes, it's too costly and too grid-intensive.
The bottom line
Direct electric heating is simple but expensive to run and harder to offset with solar, but no impossible. Heat pumps are efficient, future-proof, and central to any genuine zero-carbon strategy.
Planning permission is the only slight hurdle, and we manage the entire process for you, ensuring your installation is smooth and compliant.
