High efficiency levels and getting better all the time!

Not only are wood stoves becoming more eco-friendly, but they’re also becoming a lot more efficient. This means that more heat is used to heat your home rather than being expelled up the chimney.

Many wood burners these days have an efficiency level of over 80% plus, which means that you’re not losing much heat at all – only 20% is being lost through the chimney and the rest goes into making your home nice and toasty.

An open fire loses as much as 80% of the heat through the chimney, making them incredibly inefficient at heating homes.

Older stoves over 10 years

Will also have a lower efficiency rating, so if you want to ensure you’re getting more heat into your home, then a new stove would be a wise move. Not only is a more efficient stove better for your wallet as you’re spending less on fuel, but it’s also better for the environment.

Very fast quality heating

The biggest advantage homeowners have with a wood burning stove is the quality of heat the burner will give off. Woods stoves operate on the principal of radiant heat, which warms an area faster and more efficiently than warm air being blown through a home’s vent system. Fitted in a central position in your home you will be amazed how the rest of your house suddenly gets a whole lot warmer. In turn you will reduce any other heating bills you may have as the thermostat controlling your central heating remains off.

Can we help?

If you would like assistance in selecting and installing your new log burner, please get in touch and one of our qualified fitters (HETAS reg) will be happy to help.

Heating bills hurting your budget yet again?

Heating your home is a very costly exercise and the likelihood of it reducing in the near future is almost nil. Here’s a story that may inspire you.

From a client of ours –

“Last winter’s gas bills meant it was time to act. An engineer from Kent Stoves confirmed the idea of installing a woodstove was going to work well for us. We got the old gas fire and pipework removed, measured up our fireplace and started looking for a stove that would fit our relatively small fireplace”.

“We did our homework and got Kent Stoves advice as to the correct wood burner we would need to heat our living area”.

“Two months on, we have slashed our gas and electricity consumption. Although it is a bit early to say with certainty, I estimate we will have cut our bills by £600-£800 this year. We should recoup the cost of the stove and its installation in under three years.

“Meanwhile, we have upgraded the loft insulation – prompted by another article. And, if we keep the stove going all day, it heats the entire house. We still use the central heating to heat the bedrooms if it’s very cold”.

A wood burning stove can save you an awful lot of money and are relatively easy to maintain.

What to do if you want to save money

If you would like to know if you could benefit from a wood burning stove get in contact and one of our qualified fitters (HETAS) registered engineers will guide you in the right direction.

 

Hetas Registered Stove Installers and pointers to look out for when selecting your new wood stove!

A stove that is too small for the room will not be powerful enough to heat the room adequately, on the other hand, if you have a stove that is too large it will need constant attention to keep the temperature down.

A result of this is the combustion within the stove will not be complete and you will quickly have a build-up of soot not just on the glass, but up the chimney as well.

With this in mind, when calculating the required output, a slightly greater output should be considered (no more than 1.5kW), as there will be a greater need for rapid heating in the long dark cold months of winter.

Always fit where possible in a central position in the property.

As you are making a large investment within your home installing a new stove it really will pay to get expert help (HETAS registered) when selecting the stove to meet your needs.

Wood stoves are cleaner and more efficient than you think.

Open fireplaces are great, but they are not very energy efficient at approximately 20%. Wood burning stoves are much more efficient, at around 80%, so you get all the benefits of a real fire without most of your money going up the chimney in smoke!

Only burn mature logs – Vital information for heat and efficiency.

Wood is a far more environmentally friendly fuel than oil, gas and electricity – and subject to far less price rises. Freshly cut wood contains a lot of water, so you should dry it out before you can burn it. This can take as long as 18-24 months.

It is very unwise to burn wet or unseasoned wood as this will cause a soot build up in your chimney and make your burner very dirty.

Can we help?

If you would like assistance selecting and installing a new log burner, please get in touch. One of our HETAS qualified fitters will be happy to help.

 

Cheaper Winter Heating with Wood stoves. Log burner wood stoves are still gaining ground in the race for cheaper heat.

Wood burning stove installations are increasing annually and over the last ten years we have seen huge strides towards solving environmental issues.

Due to rising fuel bills homeowners are seeking alternative cost-effective heating options.

Wood burning stoves are a real alternative for cheaper winter heating. These days they really do offer an impressive range of options to meet your home’s needs. Long gone are the days when wood burners were seen as an ugly and dirty heating source.

Why install a wood burning burner?

People in the UK tend to spend most of their time in one room – the living room, and as such a lot of the heating costs are focused here. Therefore, if you can use a cheaper form of heating in just this location, then the costs of the central heating and additional heating should fall considerably.

How much cheaper is it? Well, the cost of wood logs is obviously variable, depending on your source and where you live. Some people have access to free wood from gardens and the local area, which is fantastic – this essentially means once you have installed the wood burner, you can heat your home for free, just imagine that!

The big 3 advantages!

• Fuel in the form of logs, wood chips, brush clippings is renewable, and sustainable.
• Wood supply prices are relatively stable and have been for years.
• Professionally installed stove will add value to your property.

Help needed?

If you would like to explore your heating options, please do make contact. One of our qualified fitters (HETAS registered) will be happy to assist.

Stove Installation. Installing a new wood stove can be quick and very easy.

If you have an existing chimney installing a wood stove is relatively easy. The fitter will usually insert a liner inside the existing chimney from the burner to the exit point. At Kent Stoves we cover the whole of Kent for wood stove installation.

For straight chimneys this can made up of sections of jointed metal pipe, which can be either single or double skinned. A double skin is more airtight and lasts longer than a single skin but of course costs more. For chimneys that aren’t perfectly straight, a flexible non-flammable liner is used.

It is important to note, chimneys should be swept at least once a year and twice if they are in heavy use. Otherwise, creosote (a by-product of inefficient combustion) builds up on the walls of the chimney to become a fire hazard. Creosote builds up gradually over time as fires burn less efficiently. When they are just getting started but can accumulate very rapidly if you burn unseasoned or damp wood.

Wood Stove Air vents used correctly will improve efficiency

Vents, usually mounted near the door, can be opened or closed to increase or decrease the airflow through the fire. When choosing your new stove do pay special attention to the airflow controls, a fitter will explain which fire would suit your home.

General Stove care

In addition to keeping your stove clean inside and outside, be sure to have it inspected by a registered fitter at least once a year to make sure that everything is working perfectly. If there are any signs of damage such as cracks, leaks or warping. Finally if you have any problems with the stove have it repaired immediately.

Can we help?

If you are thinking of installing a new burner or require your existing one serviced do make contact. One of our fitters will be happy to help.