Wood burning stoves for warming the home

One of life’s greatest pleasures, when you have to endure the UK’s winter weather, is to come home and shut the door behind you to the welcome of a wood burning stove. Just to see its glow and immediately feel the warmth quickly banishes the elements outside. But it would be a waste to confine all this welcome warmth to just one room, which is why most homeowners with wood burning stoves choose to use their power to heat the whole of the property. Choosing this form of heating has many benefits.

Energy saving

There is no other fuel, apart from firewood, that is free, either foraged from public land or donated by friendly neighbours. Even when bought from a commercial supplier, wood burning for home heating still has advantages over alternative supplies, both in cost and for saving energy.

Although using wood for stoves will require a little more effort than for those using ready-bought pellets or chips, the satisfaction from preparing the fuel is priceless. Trees are now planted in great numbers to offset the lack of oxygen that is given out, and the amount of carbon dioxide consumed, by harvested trees.

Money saving

Research by the Energy Saving Trust shows that as much as £800 per year can be saved when switching from electric storage heaters to wood burning stoves to keep the home warm, around £130 if switching from oil systems and between £300 to almost £500 if changing from coal fuel. While the installation of a home heating system powered by a wood burning stove may initially come at a price, the money saved over time will repay the outlay and pay a premium afterwards.

The government launched the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in 2011 to provide initiatives and encouragement for both domestic and non-domestic users to consider renewable heat sources. As usual with government information, it is not easy for the layman to decipher, but it is worth spending some time browsing their site, https://www.ofgem.gov.uk, for information. The majority of homes should qualify, and if your home does meet the needs of the scheme, you can feel satisfied that you have saved cash and helped the environment a little.

Time and effort saving

Installing a wood burning stove system to heat your property, whether domestic or non-domestic, will put you firmly in charge. There should be no need for emergency call-outs, as with gas, oil or electric systems failing, no need for engineers who may charge you what they feel like charging, because a wood burning system is so simple to install and maintain that the whole family or company can feel confident using it. Of course, the system, and most importantly the stove, need to be kept clean and well-maintained, but the only other work that needs to be carried out regularly is making sure that there is enough wood drying out in the shed, so that there is a constant, comforting glow in the kitchen all year round, and all the warmth it gives.