"Tony Bryer" wrote in message
...
In article , Alan wrote:
About the only way to get a sensible price using leccky is with
a heat pump aircon unit. That way you can dump 4kW of heat into
the room for 1kW worth of electricity.

Why is this? I had assumed they'd be less efficent at heating than
a traditional heating element.

No, because you're using the electricity to drive the heat pump not to
provide the heat: the heat itself is being extracted from the outside
air (the reverse to running it in a/c mode during the summer).

Heat pumps move heat. They are less efficient in winter, when you want
them, as there is less heat to move. They require careful thought,
understanding and a lot of figures worked out before buying one.