How to heat your home this winter without the shock electricity bill

If your energy bills have felt uncomfortably high lately, you are far from alone. A new CHOICE Consumer Pulse survey has found that 97 per cent of Australian households report their bills and expenses have increased over the past 12 months – the highest figure recorded in more than a decade of the survey running.

With the cooler months now arriving, the question of how to stay warm without sending your electricity bill through the roof has never felt more urgent. CHOICE household expert Chris Barnes has crunched the numbers on every major heating option, and the results are genuinely useful – especially for anyone on a fixed income trying to manage costs carefully.

The cheapest option in the long run: reverse-cycle air conditioning

If you already have reverse-cycle air conditioning installed, you are sitting on the most cost-effective heating solution available. CHOICE’s estimates show that running a reverse-cycle air conditioner for the entire year can cost less than running a portable electric heater for just three months over winter.

The catch, of course, is the upfront cost. A new split-system air conditioner ranges from around $600 to $5,500, plus several hundred dollars for installation. Ducted systems start at $9,000 and can reach $15,000 or more for larger homes. For many households, that outlay is simply not feasible right now.

“In the long run, air conditioners are the cheapest way to heat your home,” says Barnes. “But if you don’t already have one installed, the upfront cost is significant. For anyone considering it, shop and organise installation before the cold really hits – once the cold snap arrives, you could be waiting weeks.”

The good news: if you do have air conditioning, make sure you are not overusing it. Barnes recommends setting the temperature to between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius. “Every extra degree increases your heating energy use by up to 10 per cent,” he says. Close doors to rooms you are not using, and keep the filters clean for maximum efficiency.

Portable electric heaters: convenient but costly to run

For renters, apartment dwellers or anyone who cannot install air conditioning, a portable electric heater is the practical solution. They are affordable to buy – some models cost under $100 – and require no installation. But they are significantly more expensive to run than air conditioning, and the costs add up quickly.

CHOICE’s modelling, based on 500 hours of use over winter at an electricity rate of 40 cents per kilowatt hour, shows a portable electric tower heater costing around $413 to run over a winter. The equivalent cost for a reverse-cycle air conditioner heating the same period is around $128.

Of the electric heater types, oil column heaters are the cheapest to run – though only marginally – and take longer to warm a room. One important note: the cost of running an electric heater can vary by more than $300 between models. A high price tag does not guarantee lower running costs.

“Purchase price isn’t always an indicator of better performance or cheaper running costs,” says Barnes. “Some heaters we’ve recommended have cost less than $100, others more than $400, yet their winter running costs tend to be similar.”

The surprisingly economical option: heat yourself, not the room

One of the most practical pieces of advice for older Australians living alone or spending much of the day in a single room is to heat the person rather than the whole house. Electric blankets and heated throws have very low running costs and can make a genuine difference to comfort on cold nights and cool mornings.

CHOICE calculates that running a single bed electric blanket – including pre-heating and leaving it on overnight every night for three months – should cost no more than $48 for the entire season. Heated throws are even cheaper, with running costs ranging from just $12 to $18 over the same period.

As with any heated bedding product, always follow the manufacturer’s safety instructions and do not leave them unattended.

What about gas heating?

Gas heaters sit between air conditioning and electric heaters in running cost terms – cheaper to run than a portable electric heater, but not as economical as reverse-cycle air conditioning. They are not suitable for every home, require an existing gas connection, cannot be used in bedrooms or confined spaces, and need regular servicing. Gas prices have also been rising, meaning the cost advantage may narrow further over time.

The basics that make a bigger difference than you might expect

Beyond the choice of heater, Barnes points to home insulation as the single biggest factor in energy efficiency. Without adequate insulation, you can lose up to 35 per cent of your home’s warmth – meaning even the most efficient heater has to work much harder.

For those who cannot add insulation, smaller steps still help: sealing draughts around doors and windows, laying rugs on bare floors, closing curtains and blinds once the sun goes down, and closing doors to any room you are not actively using.

One often-overlooked trick for homes with ceiling fans: most modern fans have a reverse switch that makes the blades turn clockwise. Because warm air rises, running the fan on this setting pushes warmer air back down towards the floor — a free way to make your heating go further.

“If you need to run a heater all day, every day to stay warm, it is a sign that your home is not thermally efficient,” says Barnes. “Addressing that is where the real savings are.”

Source: CHOICE Consumer Pulse March 2026, based on an online survey of 1,096 Australian households, weighted to reflect the Australian population.