Best Stove For Me? Efficiency and exceptionally good looking!

A modern wood burner is more efficient than many central heating systems and far more appealing to look at than a traditional white radiator.

The appeal is not just about installing a fashion statement. 

According to reports, regular use of a wood burner can knock a third off fuel bills, providing savings of at least £950 a year.

There is a huge range of stoves to choose from, ranging in price from £500 to more than £2,000. 

A key consideration is how much heat it will pump out. Years ago, you had to live in the countryside to enjoy a wood burner, but technological improvements mean they can also provide a great heating solution in many town and city homes.

Advantages of a wood burning stove

• The net fuel cost is cheaper than heating oil, natural gas, and electricity.
• Wood sourced locally can be free!
• Fuel in the form of logs, wood chips, brush clippings is a renewable source, and sustainable.

If you combine these advantages along with the elegance a wood burner brings to your home its worth considering without doubt.

Help needed?

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

Stove Installation Service for Log Burners.

The cold days are hopefully coming to a close.

This is an ideal time to start planning for the next season, wood stoves and chimneys need maintenance to keep them safe and efficient.

Many owners unfortunately leave this task until the new season is about to begin, they often find it difficult to get an engineer due to work loads. If you can plan well in advance!!

Environmental benefits of servicing your stove

The green benefits of burning wood are gaining wider and wider support. Burning wood cleanly only releases the same amount of CO2 into the atmosphere as from a tree when it is left to rot naturally as it would do at the end of its lifecycle.

Always use professionals (HETAS registered)

In addition to keeping your stove clean inside and outside, be sure to have it inspected by a licensed professional (HETAS) at least once a year to make sure that everything is working perfectly.

It is vital to have your chimney cleaned and checked by a chimney sweep at least once a year or more often if you use your wood burning stove on a regular basis.

Poorly maintained or blocked chimneys pose a serious safety risk because they can cause carbon monoxide poisoning and chimney fires.

Benefits of using a registered fitter (HETAS)

• Easier to insure your property.
• Peace of mind.
• Total burner efficiency.
• Long term support.
• Qualified advice.

Help needed?

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

Benefits Of A woodburning stove, what is it and could it benefit me?

A wood burning stove is a home appliance that is used to heat the home. It is made of a metal such as cast iron or steel and generates heat by burning wood fuel in an enclosed fire chamber. They can be placed in most rooms of a house and need to allow fumes and gases to be drawn away from the room and out through flue. Wood burners have been around for many years but have risen in popularity in recent times due to their efficiency and low running costs.

Estimated savings  and benefits of a woodburning stove.

• 74% cheaper to run than an electric fire.
• 31% cheaper per kw than a gas effect fire.
• 44% cheaper than oil filled heater.

Heat output.

One of the most desirable features and benefits of a wood burner is the heat output it produces. As such a wood burning stove provides a powerful heat source for your home. This means that the room or rooms get warm very quickly and effectively.

Ever more popular year on year.

In total, over 250,000 woodstoves were installed in 2023 according to the Stove Industry Alliance. This is up from 218,000 in 2022.

Fuel costs as we all know are increasing rapidly with electricity and gas prices leading the way. Installing a wood burner will help keep these rises in check.

Can we help?

For your protection and safety, you should always have a fully qualified HETAS registered professional. They should install your wood/pellet burning appliance. At Kent Stoves, we will evaluate everything for you to ensure your safety and maximise efficiency. Contact Us to find out more and to arrange a free site survey.

Log Burner Advice.

Get prepared before you select your stove.

When you for stoves you will see lots of lovely looking options, now is the time to be prepared. Contact Kent Stoves for Log Burner Advice wherever you are in Kent.

Do your research and list down your requirements, then seek the advice of a fully qualified HETAS fitter who will point you in the right direction.

Wood only or multi-fuel – Get expert advice it pays!

A dedicated wood burner can be the most efficient so It’s worth considering if you’re never going to want to burn other fuels.

This issue is one you will need to spend time on, ask yourself if you will ever want to burn other fuels, such as pellets? Get the opinion of the fitter as they will be able to inform you of the pros and cons, thus ensuring you make the correct choice.

Other considerations.

Before anything happens check you have a good supplier of well-seasoned wood, this should be 18-24 months old and dried correctly. Make sure the supplier is ongoing.

Next thing to look at is where you can store the wood at home when your supplier delivers, normally outside and partially covered.

Perfect wood for your stove.

To make sure you get the most out of your wood-burning stove, and do not create additional pollution to the atmosphere, it is important to use the right kind of wood. First and foremost, you need to burn wood that is as dry as possible – it should only contain less than 20% moisture. To help you work out how dry your wood is, you can also buy a moisture meter – these cost around £20.

Help required?

 If you would like help choosing or fitting a new wood burner, please do make contact and one of our fully qualified HETAS registered engineers will be happy to help.

Better For the Enviroment.

Stoves are much more eco-friendly now and present very little damage to the environment compared to many other heat sources.

We’re not going to bury our heads in the sand and claim that wood burning stoves are 100% eco-friendly. However, the technology and materials used to make stoves has come a long way. As such they’re nowhere near as polluting as they once were. Especially even less so than an open fire.

While most modern stoves are greener than their ageing counterparts, Ecodesign Ready stoves are even better for the environment.

By 2022, all wood burning stoves had to comply with the Ecodesign European directive in a bid to tackle air pollution and particulate emissions. Many stove manufacturers are beating the directive to the punch and producing Ecodesign Ready stoves that actually exceed the directive by as much as 75%!

High efficiency levels

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

Many new stoves have an efficiency of over 80%, 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 75-80% of the heat through the chimney, making them incredibly inefficient at heating homes.

Older stoves 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.

Log Burner Stove Help needed?

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