Published 15 October 2026. Electricity at 26.32p and gas at 7.97p per kWh, the Ofgem price cap, Direct Debit average for England, Scotland and Wales for 1 October to 31 December 2026. Heating oil at 120.13p a litre, which isn't capped. We update the Index each time the cap changes.
The full Index
What it costs to run each one for an hour, for one typical use, and for a month of typical use, at this quarter's cap. The assumption column shows the power we use for each appliance, or the heat for whole-house heating.
| Keeping you warm | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric blanket (double) | 100W | 2.6 | Night, 8h | 0.21 | 6.40 | +0.02 | +0.8 |
| Heated throw | 120W | 3.2 | Evening, 4h | 0.13 | 3.84 | +0.03 | +0.8 |
| Halogen heater | 1.2kW | 31.6 | Evening, 4h | 1.26 | 38.41 | +0.25 | +0.8 |
| Oil-filled radiator | 1.5kW | 39.5 | Evening, 4h | 1.58 | 48.01 | +0.32 | +0.8 |
| Fan heater | 2kW | 52.6 | Evening, 4h | 2.11 | 64.01 | +0.42 | +0.8 |
| Heating the whole house (5kW of heat) | |||||||
| Air source heat pump | 5kW of heat, 293% efficient | 44.9 | Evening, 4h | 1.80 | 54.62 | +0.36 | +0.8 |
| Gas boiler | 5kW of heat, 84% efficient | 47.4 | Evening, 4h | 1.90 | 57.69 | +3.81 | +8.7 |
| Oil boiler | 5kW of heat, 84% efficient | 72.8 | Evening, 4h | 2.91 | 88.55 | n/a | n/a |
| Electric heaters or electric boiler | 5kW of heat, 100% efficient | 131.6 | Evening, 4h | 5.26 | 160.03 | +1.05 | +0.8 |
| Drying and damp | |||||||
| Compressor dehumidifier | 180W | 4.7 | Load of washing, 5h | 0.24 | 7.20 | +0.04 | +0.8 |
| Heated airer | 250W | 6.6 | Load of washing, 5h | 0.33 | 10.00 | +0.05 | +0.8 |
| Desiccant dehumidifier | 600W | 15.8 | Load of washing, 5h | 0.79 | 24.00 | +0.13 | +0.8 |
| Keeping cool | |||||||
| DC motor fan | 24W | 0.6 | Night, 8h | 0.05 | 1.54 | +0.01 | +0.8 |
| Desk fan | 25W | 0.7 | Night, 8h | 0.05 | 1.60 | +0.01 | +0.8 |
| Tower fan | 40W | 1.1 | Night, 8h | 0.08 | 2.56 | +0.01 | +0.8 |
| Evaporative air cooler | 65W | 1.7 | Night, 8h | 0.14 | 4.16 | +0.01 | +0.8 |
| Portable air conditioner, 7,000 BTU | 800W | 21.1 | Night, 8h | 1.68 | 51.21 | +0.17 | +0.8 |
| Portable air conditioner, 12,000 BTU | 1.3kW | 34.2 | Night, 8h | 2.74 | 83.21 | +0.27 | +0.8 |
Select a column heading to sort within each group. Download CSV (home-comfort-cost-index-q4-2026.csv).
Typical use is an evening of 4 hours for heaters and central heating, a night of 8 hours for electric blankets, fans and air conditioners, and 5 hours to dry a load of washing. Per month is one typical use a day for 30.4 days. Costs leave out standing charges. "n/a": heating oil isn't price capped, and we don't hold a previous oil price from the same source.
Charts
Each chart is drawn from the table above. You can download every chart as a PNG or SVG here or on the press page.
A DC motor fan costs 0.6p an hour; whole-house electric heating costs £1.32
Cost per hour at the Oct to Dec 2026 price cap (electricity 26.32p, gas 7.97p per kWh), cheapest first in each group. Typical power for each appliance; whole-house heating assumes 5kW of heat.
In our Index, an air source heat pump is the cheapest way to heat the whole house this quarter, at 44.9p an hour
Cost per hour to deliver 5kW of heat, with a real-world heat pump efficiency and a typical boiler efficiency. A heat pump turns 1kWh of electricity into about 2.9kWh of heat; a boiler turns 1kWh of fuel into 0.84kWh. Heating oil isn't price capped.
A night with a 7,000 BTU portable air conditioner costs £1.68; a night with a tower fan costs 8.4p
Cost of one typical use at the Oct to Dec 2026 price cap: an evening is 4 hours, a night 8 hours and drying a load of washing 5 hours. Typical power for each appliance.
Whole-house gas heating rose the most, by 3.8p an hour (8.7%); every electric appliance rose 0.8%
Cost per hour at the Jul to Sep 2026 and Oct to Dec 2026 price caps, biggest change first. Heating oil isn't capped and has no previous price here, so it has no comparison.
What changed this quarter
Under the cap, electricity went from 26.11p per kWh last quarter (July to September) to 26.32p this quarter (October to December), a rise of 0.8%. Gas went from 7.33p to 7.97p, a rise of 8.7%.
Every electric appliance in the Index moves by the same percentage, because its cost is its power multiplied by the electricity price. In pence, the most powerful move most: whole-house electric heating rose by 1.1p an hour and a fan heater by 0.42p, while a DC motor fan rose by 0.01p. Whole-house gas heating rose by 3.8p an hour, or 15p over a 4-hour evening. That changed which is cheaper to run: last quarter a heat pump cost 44.6p an hour against 43.6p for gas, and this quarter it costs 44.9p against 47.4p.
The electricity figure for October to December doesn’t include VAT, because the government has removed VAT from electricity bills from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. Gas still carries 5% VAT. Ofgem says high wholesale gas prices mean households may not see the full effect of the VAT cut, and that costs can’t be compared directly with earlier periods because of the change. Both quarters’ figures are what a household on the cap pays per unit, including any VAT, so the changes here are changes in what you pay. Without the VAT cut, the electricity rise would have been larger. Heating oil isn’t covered by the cap, so the oil boiler has no change figure this quarter.
How it's calculated
Every figure comes from the price cap and a typical figure for each appliance or heating system. Nothing is measured in a real home, so read the Index as a fair comparison between ways of heating, drying and cooling, rather than a forecast of your bill.
- Plug-in appliances: cost per hour = typical power in kW × the electricity price. We use typical rated power, not a particular model: 100W for a double electric blanket, 120W for a heated throw, 1.2kW for a halogen heater, 1.5kW for an oil-filled radiator, 2kW for a fan heater, 180W for a compressor dehumidifier, 250W for a heated airer, 600W for a desiccant dehumidifier, 24W for a DC motor fan, 25W for a desk fan, 40W for a tower fan, 65W for an evaporative air cooler, 800W for a 7,000 BTU portable air conditioner, 1.3kW for a 12,000 BTU portable air conditioner.
- Whole-house heating: we assume the house needs 5kW of heat while the heating is on, a round example for a medium house on a cold day. Cost per hour = 5kW ÷ efficiency × the fuel price per kWh. Air source heat pumps are taken as 293% efficient, the real-world average from the government-funded Electrification of Heat field trial, and gas and oil boilers as 84%, the typical fossil fuel heating efficiency that result is compared with. Electric heaters and electric boilers turn electricity into heat one for one.
- Heating oil: kerosene holds about 9.82kWh per litre, so 120.13p a litre is 12.23p per kWh. Oil isn't price capped; we use the BoilerJuice Great Britain average, 22 September 2026, via Selectra.
- Typical use and months: an evening is 4 hours, a night 8 hours and drying a load of washing 5 hours. A month is one typical use a day for 30.4 days.
- Change since last quarter: the same sums at the previous cap, 26.11p for electricity and 7.33p for gas (1 July to 30 September 2026).
Real costs are often lower. Heaters, dehumidifiers and air conditioners with a thermostat or humidistat switch off once the room reaches the setting, so they rarely draw full power for a whole evening. Standing charges aren't included, because you pay them whether or not anything is switched on. How we calculate every figure on the site.
How to cite and reuse
The Index, its charts and the CSV are free to use with credit to Home Comfort Lab and a link to this page. Please use this citation:
Home Comfort Cost Index, Q4 2026 (October to December), Home Comfort Lab. homecomfortlab.co.uk/home-comfort-cost-index/
Charts, the logo and quotes from the editor are on the press page. If you spot an error, email hello@homecomfortlab.co.uk and we'll correct it.
Sources
- Ofgem: energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026, checked 14 October 2026
- Ofgem: energy price cap, 1 July to 30 September 2026, checked 15 October 2026
- Heat Pump Association: Electrification of Heat demonstration report, checked 14 October 2026
- Heating oil price: BoilerJuice Great Britain average, 22 September 2026, via Selectra, checked 14 October 2026
- SEAI conversion factors (kerosene energy content), checked 14 October 2026