Heating fuel

Gas: mains gas is relatively inexpensive and produces lower emissions per unit of energy than most other commonly used fuels. Liquefied Petroleum Gas and bottled gas are still associated with slightly higher costs and emissions.

Electricity: standard rate electricity has the highest costs and CO2 emissions associated with main fuels, but is used in dwellings without a viable alternative or as a back-up to mains gas. An off-peak tariff such as Economy 7 is cheaper than bottled gas but with the same emissions as standard electricity.

Oil: in terms of both costs and emissions, oil lies between main gas and electricity.

Solid fuel: most solid fuels have similar costs to oil, with the exception of processed wood which can be more expensive than off-peak electricity. Fuels included are coal and anthracite, with CO2 emissions above those of gas and oil; wood, which has the lowest emissions of the main fuels; and smokeless fuel, whose emissions are close to those of electricity. By law, some areas (usually towns or cities) are designated as smoke control areas where the use of solid fuels emitting smoke is illegal.