Quick answer: Infrared heating panels cost a modelled UK average of £600 installed in July 2026 — the smallest ticket in our index, with a typical range of £390 to £930. Used selectively to heat people rather than whole rooms, they could save up to £250 a year (estimate), a modelled payback of around 2 years.
Infrared is the outlier in our UK Home Energy Cost Index: cheap to buy, expensive per unit of heat, and highly sensitive to how you use it. The statistics below reflect that — and our infrared heating guide explains when the sums do and do not work.
Key infrared heating statistics for 2026
- A typical infrared heating panel installation costs a modelled UK average of £600 — Green Reach Energy Cost Index, July 2026 (modelled).
- Typical installations range from £390 to £930 depending on panel size and wiring — Green Reach Energy Cost Index, July 2026 (modelled).
- Infrared panels are the cheapest upgrade in our eight-product index — Green Reach Energy Cost Index, July 2026 (modelled).
- London installations average a modelled £720; Northern Ireland £552 — Green Reach Energy Cost Index, July 2026 (modelled).
- The full regional spread is £168 — small in cash terms, but still 30% top to bottom — Green Reach Energy Cost Index, July 2026 (modelled).
- North West and Yorkshire installations both average £570 — Green Reach Energy Cost Index, July 2026 (modelled).
- Used to heat the rooms you occupy instead of the whole house, infrared could save up to £250 a year (estimate) — Green Reach Energy Cost Index, July 2026 (modelled).
- Modelled simple payback is around 2 years — second-fastest in our index behind EV chargers — Green Reach Energy Cost Index, July 2026 (modelled).
- A 600W panel run for one hour costs about 16p at the current cap rate (600W × 26.11p/kWh) — Green Reach Energy Cost Index, July 2026 (modelled).
- Infrared runs on electricity at 26.11p/kWh under the July–September 2026 Ofgem price cap — more than three times the 7.33p/kWh gas rate per unit.
- Infrared panels are not covered by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which funds heat pumps only — GOV.UK, checked July 2026.
- Infrared panels are not on the 0% VAT list, which covers solar, batteries, heat pumps and insulation — GOV.UK, checked July 2026.
Infrared panel costs by UK region
Installation is a modest electrical job, so regional differences are small in cash terms. The modelled averages for all 12 regions are below.
| Region | Modelled average installed cost | vs UK average |
|---|---|---|
| UK average | £600 | — |
| London | £720 | +20% |
| South East | £672 | +12% |
| East of England | £636 | +6% |
| South West | £630 | +5% |
| West Midlands | £588 | −2% |
| East Midlands | £582 | −3% |
| Scotland | £576 | −4% |
| Yorkshire & the Humber | £570 | −5% |
| North West | £570 | −5% |
| Wales | £564 | −6% |
| North East | £558 | −7% |
| Northern Ireland | £552 | −8% |
All modelled figures on this page come from the Green Reach Energy Cost Index — our July 2026 estimates built from national installed-price baselines and regional labour indices, not quotes for your specific home. Real infrared heating prices vary with property type, spec and installer, so treat these as a starting point and read how we calculate costs for the full method and its limitations.
Running costs and the grant gap
Be clear-eyed about the economics: electricity costs 26.11p/kWh against 7.33p/kWh for gas this quarter, so infrared only saves money when it lets you avoid heating unused space — a home office instead of a whole house, for example. Every kilowatt-hour counts here. No grant applies: the Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers heat pumps only, and infrared misses the 0% VAT list too. See every grant still open in 2026 for what you can claim instead.
If you are choosing between infrared and a heat pump for a specific space, compare both in the savings calculator.
Download the dataset
The full Cost Index — 9 upgrades × 12 UK regions, July 2026 — as CSV: gre-cost-index.csv. Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0) — please credit Green Reach Energy and link the methodology. Figures are modelled estimates, not quotes.