Electric blanket, infrared or radiator - which heating alternative consumes the least electricity?

Created: 11/14/2022, 5:00 p.m

By: Andrea Stettner

Electrical heaters are currently experiencing a real boom.

Stiftung Warentest has taken a close look at the costs of the most common heating alternatives.

Shortly before winter, the gas storage facilities in Germany are almost completely full.

So there is currently no acute danger that the gas tap will be turned off in German households.

Nevertheless, many consumers are becoming concerned that they will have to do without gas during the cold season.

In addition to Swedish and tiled stoves, electric heaters in particular are an alternative.

But they can get pretty expensive.

In its 10/2022 issue, Stiftung Warentest took a close look at some electric heaters and tested their power consumption.

The cheapest alternative might surprise many.

An electric blanket warms when the gas is no longer enough - and it's relatively cheap.

(Iconic image) © IMAGO/Jochen Tack

Alternative to gas heating: Stiftung Warentest tests electric heaters

For its cost check, Stiftung Warentest tested five common electric heaters for their consumption and the associated electricity costs.

Included in the test:

• infrared heating

• radiator

• air conditioning

• electric blanket

• fan heater

As an example, the testers calculated the consumption for a cozy evening in front of the TV: four hours with a maximum heating output of 2,000 watts.

The testers assumed a cold living room of 16 degrees, which should be heated to 20 degrees, in a house with average insulation.

The electricity price was estimated at 34 cents per kilowatt hour.

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Electric blanket with the best price-performance ratio

The result: the electric blanket performed best in the cost check.

For a two-person household, the testers calculated electricity costs of 50 euros for the entire cold season (a period of six months at Stiftung Warentest).

"That's because the electric blankets don't heat an entire room with up to 2,000 watts, but only the people who are warmed with them," according to the testers.

And for this, 50 to 100 watts per person are perfectly sufficient.

The operating hour only costs 3.4 cents of electricity.

Pre-installed air conditioning systems heat noticeably more expensive, but are particularly efficient.

They heat rooms relatively inexpensively and are ideal for continuous operation.

However, split units can get quite expensive once they have to be installed.

Source: Stiftung Warentest / * two devices may be required for two people.

Fan heaters, radiators and infrared heaters consume a lot of electricity and are therefore significantly more expensive in comparison (see table).

In addition, fan heaters are not recommended for continuous operation, as they overheat quickly.

They should therefore only be used briefly in everyday life.