Very popular and getting more so

Wood burning stoves have become incredibly popular over the last few years, and it’s easy to see why. With spiraling energy costs, people are keen to find ways to save money. Not only do wood burners save money, but they also create a warm feeling to a room.

Stoves can be used as an alternative to the main heating in a home, they really are an excellent supplementary heating system. When we get really cold spells and the central heating isn’t enough, or you don’t want to turn it on full blast, a stove is a fantastic form of supplement heat.

An economy where it matters

People tend to spend most of their time in one room – the living room or kitchen area, and as such a lot of the heating costs are focussed here. Therefore, if you can use a cheaper form of heating in just these locations, then the costs of the central heating and additional heating should fall considerably.

If you are using electricity to heat your home, getting a wood burner is a lot cheaper – so it really is a no brainer if you have somewhere to put it! Remember electricity costs are upwards of 14p/kWh, so installing a wood burner, with fuel costs of just 3.85p/kWh is about 3-4 times cheaper.

What should you burn?

Wood is a more environmentally friendly fuel than oil, gas, and electricity – and subject to far fewer price rises. Freshly cut wood contains a lot of water, so you should dry it out (season it) before you can burn it. This can take as long as two years.

You can buy wood that’s already seasoned, or you can season it yourself, using a log store if air can circulate around the logs. It is very unwise to burn wet or unseasoned wood as this will cause soot to build up in your chimney and make your burner very dirty.

Like to know more?

If you would like to know more about saving money installing a wood burner, please get in touch and one of our fully qualified (HETAS registered) fitters will be happy to help.