A new gas fire or electric fire is a fantastic addition to make to your home. They keep your room cosy, give you a stylish centrepiece and offer a much cleaner alternative to an open fire.

BUT, most important for many of us is - how much will they cost to run?

Making sure you have found an efficient and cost-effective way to heat your home is a priority these days. With energy bills ever increasing, we know our customers want to be confident that they won't be hit with unexpected bills when they use their new gas or electric fireplace for the first time.

So, to help you out, we have built our own fireplace running cost calculator!

Take a look at it below - and read on to find out more about how to use it, plus how much it really costs to run a gas or electric fireplace...

Fireplace Running Cost Calculator

Our Fireplace Running Cost Calculator Explained...

You can use this running cost calculator for either gas or electric fireplaces - all you need to know is:

- The heat input of your fireplace. This can be found on the product description of all of our fireplaces, under the specifications tab. It will be in kWs. For electric fireplaces, this will be the same as the output as they are 100% efficient.- Your estimated usage time in hours. You might generally, for example, plan to use it for about 2 hours every night. If you want to know the cost for a whole month, this would be about 60 hours.- The cost of your energy in pence per kilowatt. It doesn't matter if this is gas or electric - the calculation works the same for both. You should be able to find this out on your latest energy bill. This doesn't include your daily standing charge - just your unit price.If you aren't sure how much your energy costs are, these were the averages for the UK in 2018:- Electricity - 14.37p/kWh*- Gas - 3.8p/kWh*While this average price can give you a guide, bear in mind that your tariff could be significantly more, or less. It is also likely to increase over time.

To work out how much a fireplace costs to run, our calculator uses the following formula...

Energy input in kW x the amount of time it is being used. This gives us the kWh.

We then multiply the kWh by the cost of your energy per kilowatt, in pence.

Last, we divide this by 100 to give you the cost in a '£0.00' format.

How Much Does a Gas Fireplace Cost to Run?

Gas fireplaces offer a very cost-effective way to heat your home.

Gas is one of the cheapest fuels available for use in our homes, plus, is also one of the cleanest and most convenient. However, the efficiency of your fireplace plays a huge part in how much your gas fireplace will ultimately cost to run.

Gas Fire Efficiency Explained

When it comes to running a fireplace, the more efficient your fireplace is, the less it will cost overall. This is because the lower the efficiency of your fireplace, the less energy will actually be converted to heat into your room, so you might find yourself running it for longer. In most gas fireplaces, a portion of the heat will escape up the chimney - though modern designs now reduce this percentage of heat loss greatly.

A more efficient fire means more of the money you spend on heat actually goes into your room.

There are a number of different styles of gas fire, with varying efficiency ratings from between 74% to 100% efficiency.

Take a look at our blog post on Which Gas Fires are the Most Efficient to find out more.

How Much Does an Electric Fire Cost to Run?

Many people assume that electric fires cost a lot to run. This is down to the fact that electricity usually has a higher unit cost than gas. While this is true, it is worth bearing in mind that modern electric fireplaces are 100% efficient and have a low installation cost.

Do Electric Fires Cost a Lot to Run?

As we mentioned above, the main benefit of an electric fireplace is that they are 100% efficient. This is because they don't require any ventilation, so no heat is lost up the chimney.

So, while the unit price of electricity is higher than gas, all of the energy used goes into your room. Along with a generally lower price tag than a gas fire, and a less costly installation, this can even out the long term price in comparison with a gas fire.

For example, here is how much a 2kW fire costs to run for 2 hours a day over 4 months, based on the average UK unit price (14.37p/kWh*)...

£68.98

And here is how much it would cost with a gas fire for the same period, based on the average UK unit price (3.8p/kWh*)...

£18.24

While the difference might seem a lot, if installing a gas fire will be a costly process in your home, it might still work out cheaper to take on the running cost of an electric fire. Remember, a gas fire will also need annual servicing and flue inspections, which will also add to the running cost - this can be up to around £50 - £70. An electric fireplace does not require this.

Shop Our Leading Range of Fires Online Now!

At Direct Fireplaces, we stock one of the UK's best ranges of gas and electric fires, plus stylish fire surrounds, hearths and fireplace packages.

Shop our guaranteed low prices with free delivery available to get the best deal on your new fireplace today.

If you need any more help in choosing your fireplace, please contact us to speak to our expert sales team.

* https://www.ukpower.co.uk/home_energy/tariffs-per-unit-kwh