When the time comes to choose your type of heating, it is sometimes difficult to know which one, natural gas heating or electric heating, is more interesting.
Advantages of electric heating
Whether through radiant panels or convectors, electric heating has many advantages:
- Safer than other modes of heating: with electricity, there is no risk of explosion, asphyxiation or carbon monoxide poisoning. Modern electric heating systems offer every safety guarantee.
- No maintenance: electric heating is the cleanest heating method available.
- Less expensive to install: this heating method requires very little investment and is very easy to install. Its installation cost is on average half that of gas heating and it is twice as quick to install (source: L'Expansion).
In addition, it can be used for auxiliary heating, without investing large sums of money. For example, you can see on the But site that there are electric heaters that can be moved at reasonable rates.
Easy to use, it offers the possibility to program the temperature in each room and to remotely control the whole installation. Generally speaking, electric heating is more suitable for small, well-insulated dwellings and second homes.
Advantages of natural gas heating
If gas heating is more expensive to install, you should know that it benefits from the energy transition tax credit. It will easily and advantageously replace an oil heating system that has become obsolete and too polluting.
- Cheaper than electricity, the price of gas will drop as the price of a barrel of oil, to which it is indexed, falls. In the end, the monthly cost, including installation, over a period of 10 years, is 30% cheaper with it.
- More comfort: gas heating is more efficient in less insulated homes and provides uniform heat without drying out the air.
Gas central heating can also be controlled by thermostats. Controlling the temperature can further improve the feeling of well-being.
Natural gas heating is perfectly suited for a dwelling connected to city gas, which will greatly reduce its cost. Otherwise, a garden or cellar is required to store the storage tank.
And the disadvantages
The main drawbacks of natural gas heating remain the storage of propane tanks and the lack of price stability, which is currently low but can fluctuate upwards if the price of oil rises.
On the other hand, the price of electricity is a major disadvantage, although it does have advantages. If the house is poorly insulated, electric heating becomes quite expensive.
In conclusion, each type of heating has its advantages. Notwithstanding the danger that gas storage can present, we recommend that it be favoured when renovating a dwelling. A low oil price per barrel and high gas stocks, added to the tax advantage on the installation of condensing or micro cogeneration boilers, make this type of heating financially very interesting.
