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Heating & Cooling

Gas Boiler vs Electric Heating vs Air Conditioning

What a unit of heat costs from each at the October to December 2026 price cap, and which suits which Manchester home

8 min read•Updated October 2026

Most Manchester homes are heated by a gas boiler. Some, especially flats and homes without a gas supply, use electric heaters. A growing number add air conditioning, which heats as well as cools. This guide compares the three on what a unit of heat costs, what each one does and doesn’t do, and where each one fits.

At a glance

Gas boiler, electric heaters and air conditioning compared, October to December 2026 price cap
Gas boilerElectric heaters Air conditioning
Price per kWh you pay for 7.97p (gas)26.32p (electricity)26.32p (electricity)
Heat from each kWh about 0.9 kWh1 kWhabout 3 kWh
Cost per kWh of heat about 8.9p26.3pabout 8.8p
HeatsThe whole house, through radiatorsThe room it is in Each room with an indoor unit
Hot water YesNoNo
Cooling NoNoYes
Upkeep Annual service by a Gas Safe engineerVery little Clean the filters; annual service

Prices are the Ofgem price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026, paying by direct debit, as a Great Britain average. There is no VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027; the gas rate includes 5% VAT. “About 3” for air conditioning is GOV.UK’s figure for air-to-air systems; the boiler figure allows for older boilers and real-world running. Unit costs only: standing charges are the same whichever you use.

Modern gas combi boiler installed in home

Gas boiler: the usual choice

How it works

A gas boiler burns natural gas to heat water, which is pumped round radiators in every room. Most combi and system boilers heat your hot water too. They have been the UK standard for decades, and most homes in Manchester already have one.

What a unit of heat costs

At the October to December 2026 cap, gas costs 7.97p per kWh. A boiler turns about 90% of that into heat, so a kWh of heat costs about 8.9p. Gas boilers fitted in English homes since April 2018 must be rated at least 92% efficient; we use 90% to allow for older boilers and real-world running.

Pros & cons

Advantages

  • Already in most homes, with radiators in place
  • Heats the whole house and your hot water
  • Holds its output in very cold weather
  • Familiar to use

Disadvantages

  • Should be serviced every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer
  • Central heating usually warms the whole house, even rooms nobody is using
  • Follows the gas price, which the cap resets every three months
  • No cooling
Modern horizontal electric radiator in contemporary living room

Electric heaters: simple, dear to run

How they work

Electric radiators, panel heaters, oil-filled radiators and fan heaters all turn electricity straight into heat through a heating element. They are common in flats, in homes without a gas supply, and as a top-up in a cold room.

What a unit of heat costs

Every kWh of electricity becomes one kWh of heat, so at the October to December 2026 cap a kWh of heat costs 26.3p: about three times as much as from gas or air conditioning.

Pros & cons

Advantages

  • Plug-in heaters need no installer
  • No annual service
  • Heats room by room
  • No gas supply needed

Disadvantages

  • The dearest of the three per unit of heat
  • Expensive for heating a whole house
  • Several at once can overload a circuit
  • No cooling
Air conditioning indoor wall unit in a modern living room

Air conditioning: heats and cools, room by room

How it works

The wall-mounted split, multi-split, ceiling cassette and ducted air conditioning we fit all heat as well as cool. In heating mode each one runs as an air-to-air heat pump: rather than turning electricity into heat, it uses electricity to carry heat that is already in the outdoor air into your rooms, even on a cold Manchester night. The systems we fit are typically rated at a seasonal heating efficiency of 400% or more (SCOP 4 or more), with premium models just over 500%. In a cold UK winter, expect about three units of heat for every unit of electricity, which is GOV.UK’s figure for air-to-air systems. For the whole cycle step by step, see how air-to-air heat pumps work.

What a unit of heat costs

At about three units of heat per unit of electricity, a kWh of heat costs 26.32p ÷ 3, about 8.8p, at the October to December 2026 cap. In a hard frost, at about 2.5, it is about 10.5p. The rating is a seasonal lab figure, and on the coldest UK days real output per unit of electricity is lower, so these sums use about three to be safe.

That is about a third of the cost of heat from a plug-in heater, and about the same as heat from a gas boiler. Where air conditioning can save against gas central heating is in heating only the rooms you are using, rather than the whole house. For what one room costs to heat over a winter month, and the settings that keep the bill down, see heating with air conditioning in winter.

Cooling in summer, too

The same indoor and outdoor units cool in summer, running the cycle the other way. The Met Office records 2025 as the UK’s warmest summer on record, and a bedroom that holds the day’s heat can make for a hard night’s sleep. Cooling runs on the same electricity, so it costs to run like heating does, but you do not need a second system for it.

Pros & cons

Advantages

  • Typically rated at 400% or more seasonal heating efficiency (SCOP 4 or more); about three units of heat per unit of electricity in a cold UK winter
  • A unit of heat costs about a third of one from a plug-in heater
  • Heats and cools from one system
  • Each room with its own unit has its own temperature
  • Takes moisture out of the air when cooling, or in dry mode

Considerations

  • Needs fitting: an outdoor unit, pipework and an indoor unit in each room. The estimator gives a range for your rooms.
  • Does not heat water, so you keep your boiler, cylinder or immersion for that
  • Less efficient as it gets colder, and pauses now and then to defrost
  • Warms the room with air, not radiators
  • Should be serviced every year, like a boiler

Air conditioning for heating in Manchester

  • •
    Frosty nights: current wall-mounted models are rated by their manufacturers to keep heating down to about −15 °C to −20 °C outdoors, depending on the model, though they give less heat for each unit of electricity as it gets colder.
  • •
    Warmer summers: 2025 was the UK’s warmest summer on record, which makes the cooling side worth having.
  • •
    Damp: dry mode takes moisture out of the air in a room that feels clammy.
  • •
    Existing homes: fitting it leaves your radiators and boiler where they are, so it can sit alongside gas central heating.

Which suits your home?

Air conditioning, if:

  • You want heating and cooling from one system
  • You heat a few rooms most of the time, rather than the whole house
  • You are heating rooms with plug-in heaters today
  • You want to keep your boiler for hot water and the coldest days

A gas boiler, if:

  • You want one system for the whole house and your hot water
  • You already have a gas supply and radiators
  • You prefer heat from radiators

Electric heaters, if:

  • You only need heat occasionally, in one small room
  • You need something today, with no installation
  • You want a back-up for when the main heating is off

Sources

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