The best time of year for heating your home by burning kiln dried firewood.

The autumn months are upon us. The leaves are changing, there’s a crispness to the air, pumpkins a-plenty are being harvested for the spooky season, the nights draw in a lot sooner, and it gradually gets a much more temperate outside.

Autumn is the time of year for hot chocolate, woollen jumpers, and homemade soup. When animals start to hibernate and sitting quietly in front of a wood burning stove reading a good book, listening to an engaging podcast, or watching sport or a documentary that you just can’t tear your eyes from is the best way to spend an evening.

Now, wistful seasonal memories aside, just as autumn is transformative for nature so too is it for our own lives. A wood burning stove can transform your home in more ways than one. Interested in learning how? Keep reading.

The Meditative Effect

A wood burning stove offers so much more than warming your home. It provides a calming, meditative effect, soothing your body and mind.

According to the Rheingold Institute in Cologne, which is regarded as one of the world’s leading psychological market researchers, purchasing a wood burning stove is not a decision that’s driven by reason, but emotion. Sitting beside warm fire with crackling embers and colourful flames invoke peace and calm and, for most everyone, this is highly alluring.

There are few better ways to improve a room’s ambiance. Indeed, so sought after is this feeling that artificial fires have blossomed in popularity over the last few decades. Yet despite this, there really is no substitute for a wood burning stove.

The Kitchen or the Living Room? The Choice is Yours

The kitchen may be the heart of the home, a place where families gather to share a meal and spend valuable time together but it’s generally not the room in the home that people sit down quietly and relax for hours at a time.

So, is the kitchen the best place to install a wood burning stove? Well, it depends. If you’re someone who likes the idea of having the comfort of a fire whilst cooking a meal for the whole family or believe that your kitchen is lacking a focal point, then installing a wood burning stove in the kitchen is a great idea.

Alternatively, installing a wood burning stove in the living room is something that very few, if any, homeowners regret. Once installed, you can enjoy long evenings sat by a roaring fireplace, enjoying good conversation, even a hot cider or two can make the cooler nights much more enjoyable, almost inviting despite the cooler weather.

Better still, if you want to create a focal point in your home, a place where friends can gather, or one that complements or enhances existing décor, there are few better ways to do this than by installing a wood burning stove.

A Style Statement

The idea that wood burning stoves are only suited to rustic country cottages has long since been forgotten. Today they’re a powerful style statement, one that injects some personality into any home, whether you favour traditional or contemporary décor.

From large family homes to compact flats, wood burners create a cosy ambiance wherever installed. Blending seamlessly into interior spaces of all sizes, choosing the perfect stove for your home has never been easier.

There’s a wide range of designs and finishes that add a splash of colour and mirror the interior aesthetic of your home perfectly. Whether installed in a nook or front and centre in a room as a focal point, rest assured, wood burning stoves are a profound style statement.

Cheaper Household Bills

As the winter months draw in and outside temperatures drop, everyone across the UK will spend more on their heating. Electric and gas usage increases by 36% in the winter months, according to Ofgem. Moreover, its estimated that working from homes costs an extra £21 a day.

Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem. When not eating, people in the UK tend to spend more of their time in one room – the living room. Having a wood burning stove just heat the room or rooms, where you spend the most time in makes sense, right?

So, how much cheaper are wood burning stoves? Well, it depends on the price of logs and where you live in the UK. Sourcing logs from a reputable supplier typically costs around 4p per kWh, a price which is comparable to gas central heating systems. Then if you consider that you’re only heating the room, you can begin to see how much you can save.

If your home is heated by electricity, getting a wood burning stove is a lot cheaper. It costs around 15p per kWh to heat your home with electricity, so by installing a wood burner you could save up to 75% on your heating bills!

Can I use a Wood Burning Stove in Smoke Free Zones Like London?

The Clean Air Act of 1956 was enacted in response to London’s Great Smog of 1952 and introduced measures to reduce air pollution, prompting a move towards smokeless fuels. Still in use today, the Act doesn’t mean that you can’t have a wood burning stove of you live in a smoke free zone.

Thankfully, those who live in smoke free zones aren’t left out in the cold. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) put together a list of stoves that qualify as ‘clean burn,’ meaning that they meet air pollution restrictions.

The only caveat is that these stoves are typically more expensive, retailing at around £2,000. Some stoves can be modified to meet DEFRA standards, however before buying one, it’s recommended that you check with the retailer or the manufacturer to make sure that the stove can be modified.

You can obviously use smokeless fuels, like charcoal or anthracite, if your stove cannot be modified. Though they may be more expensive, smokeless fuels are still much cheaper than using electricity to heat your home.

A wood burning stove can completely transform your home, making it feel more welcoming and stylish whilst reducing your bills. Firewood for Stoves has a vast collection of firewood that’s ideal for wood burning stoves. Call us today on 0333 300 1299 and learn more about our complete range.