Gas or electric fire - do they cost the same to run?

Deakin

I like to have a fire going in the evenings and have had a very uneconomical gas fire for several years which has recently packed up. I had the man in to service it and he advised me to get a new one as the old one was faulty and even if he fixed it, he couldn't guarantee how long it would last. He went into the loft and found a major fault with my external flue (Its one of those chimney less houses) and he turned the fire off completely as the flue was dangerous to use. Repairs to the flue and a new fire would cost me close to £1,000 but he then advised me to get an electric fire, saying that todays prices of gas and electric are about equal and I wouldn't spend any more using an electric fire than a gas one.

For a gas man to advise that has made me think it must be true, does anyone else agree with him, or should I go ahead and pay out for the gas repairs?

Ectophile

The price of electricity and gas are nowhere near equal. Standard rate electricity is about 15p per kWh, and mains gas is about 3.9p per kWh (but allow a bit of inefficiency in gas fire, as some heat will be lost up the flue, so you would need a bit more gas for the same heat output).

An electric heater would cost much less to buy, and much less to install, but the cost of the electricity to run it would be a lot higher.