Gas vs renewables question

[andrewducker]

At the moment, it makes vastly more sense to have gas-powered central heating than electric central heating (3.5p/kWh vs 13p/kWh).

Solar power is getting cheaper, as is wind, but looking at the various resources, there's not any chance of any power source ending up cheaper than 3.5p/kWh for heating.

Am I missing something? Or is gas central heating likely to be the cheapest method indefinitely (or until gas starts to run out, or we increase taxes on it)?

Comments

[cmcmck]

I guess having your own solar arrays/windmill might be the way to go, but I'm really not sure.

Hmm, is this a repeat?

[lsanderson]

Electrical heat pumps are much more efficient than gas furnaces. You just need a few pipes stuck in the ground. Initial cost, however, is much more.