HETAS Registered Installers

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Hetas Registered Installers.

Thinking of joining the crowd soon? If you are thinking of installing a wood burner in your home like so many others, here are a few things you should know.

If you have a new stove installed it’s likely to increase the value of your property. This is due to the current demand but remember it must be fitted by a registered installer.

Efficiency

As great as open fires are they are not energy efficient and only give approximately 20% output. As such Wood burning stoves are much more efficient. At around 70-90%, so you get all the benefits of a real fire without most of your money going up the chimney!

Use a registered installer (HETAS) registered.

The installation of a wood burner must comply with building regulations and the easiest way to do this is to use a qualified fitter.

HETAS-registered installers deal with wood, solid-fuel and biomass domestic heating appliances. In addition they can self-certify that their work complies with building regulations, so it’s safe and legal.

Chimney

The chimney may need to be lined before the wood burner can be installed.

Homes dating from the mid-1960s onwards should have had a concrete or clay chimney liner fitted when they were built. However ask a qualified installer to check out the chimney, whatever the age of your home. This is a service that we offer at Kent Stoves.

There are lots of benefits to having a chimney lined, including better energy efficiency.

Can we help?

If you would like advice concerning your new or existing wood stove, please make contact and one of our fully qualified fitters (HETAS) registered will be happy to assist.

 

mendip christon stove specialists wood burner installation

Log Burner Advice

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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.

Log Burning Stoves

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Log Burning Stoves.

A very elegant heating solution for your home.

Today’s wood heating appliances are designed for beauty and economic performance. Log burning stoves can be the focal point of any room.

Regardless of your taste, there’s a stove designed for you and your budget. In fact, it’s difficult to find ugly stoves or inserts nowadays whether they be ultra-modern or traditional.

With so many beautiful stoves to choose from and the costs coming down this does make a great heating solution and saves money in the long term.

One of the biggest advantage homeowners have with a wood burning stove is the quality of heat the burner will give off.

Wood 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 for example.

Environmentally friendly as well!

If you compare using fossil fuels for heat, natural gas, propane, coal, etc. wood is eco-friendlier. It’s considered “carbon-neutral,” which means when it burns, it doesn’t add additional carbon dioxide to the environment.

This is because in its natural state as a tree, wood absorbs carbon dioxide that’s in the atmosphere. During combustion, a balance is maintained.

Like to have a chat about your options?

If you would like to know more about heating with a wood burner, please make contact and one of our fully qualified fitters (HETAS) registered will be happy to help.

better for the enviroment log burner

Better For The Enviroment

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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.

hearld 5 front

Keep Warm For Less Money

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Keep Warm For Less Money

Double bonus – keep warmer and save money!

With the colder weather hitting the UK in the next week or so, how do you stay warm? I am sure you will be like the majority and turn up the thermostat on the central heating system. However, a growing number of people are opting for renewable heating sources instead such as wood burning stoves.

Log burners claim to not only be good for the environment but also a way to cut the cost of your energy bills, also as a bonus they could add value to your property.

So far in 2023/24 the stove industry is reporting record sales and installations of the traditional log burner. Sales this year are up a massive 26% on the same period last year and HETAS registered fitters around the country are very busy trying to keep pace with the upsurge.

After purchase and fitting can you really make savings?

 A lot of experts estimate after installation and purchase costs households will start to see savings within 3 years.

A stove is a highly efficient source of heat – delivering more than 80% efficiency in many cases. The current generation of stoves are clean and very easy to use and control.

Estimated savings using a wood stove

  • 77% cheaper to run than an electric fire.
  • 29% cheaper per kw than a gas effect fire.
  • 51% cheaper than oil filled heater.

It is very important to note you must always only burn fully dried wood logs and these should have matured for 18-24 months.

Can we help?

If you would like to know more, please do contact us and one of our fully qualified fitters (HETAS) registered who will be happy to assist.

rising heating costs wood burning stove

Rising Heating Costs

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Rising Heating Costs

Rising fuel bills are on the way again?

Due to rising fuel bills homeowners are seeking different cost-effective heating options. Wood burning stoves are a very real alternative.

These days wood burners 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.

Positives 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 renewable, and sustainable.

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

Maintaining your stove.

Maintaining your wood burner regularly is important for safety plus performance and longevity. If a poorly maintained wood-burner causes a fire, it may also invalidate your insurance cover.

Most wood burners and flue systems have parts that you need to replace or clean periodically. Don’t burn damp wood in a wood burner or you’ll damage it and risk soot build-up which can be very dangerous.

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.

Safe & Efficient Stove Installation

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Safe & Efficient Stove Installation.

Very efficient, very safe, and elegant into the bargain!!

A professionally fitted wood burning stove can save you hundreds on annual fuel bills. Before having one installed be sure your new heating machine is suitable for your home.

There are a large range of wood burning stoves to choose from. These range in price from £500 to more than £2,500.

A recent survey conducted 12 months after the installation of a new wood stove found from a cross section of the public, that overwhelmingly 92% agreed their heating bills had reduced significantly!!

Homes with a certified fitted wood stove can be worth a lot more money when selling. Also bear in mind some insurance companies will not accept the risk unless the stove has been professionally fitted.

Wood stoves and the environment.

One question our fitters are always asked is how environmentally friendly are they?  The green benefits of burning wood are gaining 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.

What is more, harvested trees are replaced with new trees. As such these in turn absorb CO2 in the process of photosynthesis as they grow. So, in short, good!

A HETAS registered fitter is fully trained in fitting and able to give advice as to the most suitable wood burning stove for the area to be heated.   

Help required?

If you would like assistance selecting your new stove or require help with your existing one, please do make contact and one of our qualified (HETAS registered) fitters will be happy to assist.

hamlet stove in fireplace save on your heating costs

Save On Your Heating Costs

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Save On Your Heating Costs.

Make huge savings if you follow these rules!!

Installing a wood burner in your home could save you in the long term a great deal of money. The savings will depend on how efficient your new stove is and the fuel you use.

Crucial – Burning wood with 20% or less moisture will minimise pollutants and increase efficiency. Kiln-dried wood has less than 20% moisture but is more expensive than seasoned logs. Most stove owners burn seasoned logs, and 23% of the owners told us they collect free wood from local resources.

Just imagine the savings you could make if you could source your own wood to burn free. 

A higher-efficiency stove should save you more and potentially cut pollution. New efficient stoves reduce potentially harmful particle emissions by more than 80%, compared with stoves from 10 years ago, according to the Stove Industry Alliance.

A stove can cost varying amounts to buy and install.

Heat efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Seasoned wood burns better than green wood, because it produces more heat and less creosote build-up in the fireplace and chimney. Green or unseasoned wood, on the other hand, is hard to light and difficult to keep burning. If your wood smoulders and burns poorly with little heat, it’s probably green wood.

You can tell if wood is seasoned by looking at it. On the outside, seasoned wood probably looks grey and dusty from sitting around for a while. But on the inside, it’s often dry and white, usually lighter than on the outside. New wood, on the other hand, looks like it came fresh from the timber mill with the same colour throughout the wood.

 Can we assist?

 If you would like help selecting and installing a new wood burning stove, please do make contact. We have fully qualified (HETAS) fitters and advisers waiting to take your enquiry.

install a wood stove derwent

Install a Wood Stove

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Install A Wood Stove. With the cost of energy seemingly rising on a monthly basis it does warrant investigation as to alternative heating options.

Fitting A wood Stove

Fitting a wood stove could be the perfect solution. As they are without doubt far cheaper to run especially if you can source you own fuel.

We are always being asked the best place and way to install a new wood stove. Stoves basically can be installed almost anywhere in the home.  But as with most things some are far better positioned than others.

When it comes to flue pipes the hard and fast rule is the straighter they are the better the air will flow. Ideally, your piping should rise directly up into a chimney. As such located above the stove, but angles can be added as required.

Straighter or less curved runs create stronger air drafts that will promote more efficient burning and heat creation.

Installing your new wood burning stove in the centre of your house this without doubt is the favoured option!!

If you can fit centrally once the stove has been lite you will find the whole house will become much warmer very quickly as the central chimney warms up. We always get customers commenting how much warmer the whole house gets and therefore reduces central heating costs accordingly.

Safety and Efficiency

Expert advice is vital for safety and efficiency, plus insurance.

For safety and to maximise efficiency you should always have a professional (HETAS Registered) install your wood or pellet burning appliance. A fully qualified fitter will carefully evaluate everything from your chimney to your floor protection. A certified fitter can also assist you in making the correct choice of stove to heat your home to maximum efficiency.

Can we assist??

If you’re considering buying a new stove for your home please do make contact and one of our HETAS qualified fitters will be happy to assist.

 

heta wood stove

New Year’s Resolution – Treat your home to a wood stove!

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New Year’s Resolution

Treat Your Home To A New Wood Stove! Essentials:

Quality installation is fundamental to your wood burner’s performance and safety. We recommend that you have your wood burner installed by a certified fitter (HETAS Registered).

Follow these guidelines for economy and efficiency

As well as the making sure your new stove will physically fit into its new home, it is important to consider that the stove’s output is sufficient for the room. You should also ensure that it is not too large for the room, as this can cause just as many problems as a stove that is too small.

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.

Calculating the required output.

You should always allow a slightly greater output (no more than 1.5kW), as there will be a greater need for rapid heating in the long dark cold months of winter.

Stoves these days come in all shapes and sizes so there is bound to be one that fits your requirements.

Good for the environment

Burning wood from sustainable forests is carbon neutral. While trees are growing, they capture carbon dioxide from the air. This carbon dioxide is released either when the wood is burnt, or when the tree dies and rots. Some emissions are produced in the transporting and processing of the wood. This is only a very small amount per unit of heat produced.

Can we assist?

If you would like help selecting and installing a new stove, please do contact us. We have fully qualified HETAS registered fitters and advisers waiting to take your enquiry.