Log burners to cut energy costs??

[SpatulaSpoon]

Hi is anyone able to give me their thoughts on their log burner?

How big a room it heats, cost monthly for the wood etc?

I know they aren't very green, but the fuel cost increases are shocking and if it means the initial outlay when i get my bonus would mean long term less to heat my large open plan downstairs room, so be it!

Any draw backs?

Thanks 💜

We have one as our sole means of heating but it has a voracious appetite for fuel. We cut and season our own but it is by no means free when all the associated costs, including time, are considered.

@GlitterSquid

Well they'll be outlawed soon, so there's that......

They'll have to retro-fit whole villages with gas mains if they do !

GlitterSquid

Well they'll be outlawed soon, so there's that......

If this is true, it’s quite worrying as we don’t have mains electricity, so our options for alternative heating are limited.

I think if you live in an urban area they may well be banned. If you live in the countryside I'd say you'll be fine.

Consider carefully whether you have access to a cheap supply of wood - round here the dried logs are super expensive and burn up in no time so you get through a lot.

If you consider installation costs then saving money by having a logburner will take a very long time! So I'd say that's not a good reason to install one.

However we have a logburner and the heat it generates is super cosy, and it's easy to get a really toasty room (ours is 4.5 x 4.5) within half an hour to the level that's not even achievable using my central heating. We love it.

Paying £200 for kiln dried wood per season. Using central heating as well for other rooms in the house.

They won’t be outlawed, but there will be stricter controls in urban areas.

But then you consider how popular fire pits have become over the last couple of years especially since Covid, with people entertaining outside more. I’ve lost cost of the number of evenings we’ve had at friends’, engulfed with thick smoke, burning damp and unsuitable wood.

We have one of those ‘solo’ stoves outside. They’re expensive but they burn hot and very clean and no-one goes home stinking.

*'GlitterSquid

Well they'll be outlawed soon, so there's that......'*

'They'll have to retro-fit whole villages with gas mains if they do !'

I'd imagine they would just ban the sale of new ones.

I live very rurally and had a small one fitted before the winter. There is no gas mains here and electricity can go down so it was a back up for heating and basic cooking in an emergency. I have a 5kw one and it heats through the whole (small terraced cottage) nicely in the evening. I open up the doors and the heat flows through.
Carbon dioxide alarms must be installed in all rooms and legally one must be fitted in the room where the log burner is, this was all done by the engineer when it was installed.
I use barn dried logs which need to be

@Blackmagicqueen

*'GlitterSquid

Well they'll be outlawed soon, so there's that......'*

'They'll have to retro-fit whole villages with gas mains if they do !'

I'd imagine they would just ban the sale of new ones.

Given that new gas boilers are apparently being banned at some point in the next decade or so that seems unlikely.

The changes on new woodburners have only just come in any apply to new sales only so I can't see a ban on existing stoves being introduced. I imagine that having an old stove that doesn't fit modern standards might be an issue when selling.

I second the point about logburners warming a room better than central heating. I have an 8kw burner and it’s amazing for blowing out a lot of heat and then you turn it down to a slow flame once you’re at the right temp, otherwise you use too much wood and the room gets so hot you’re forced out of it.

In my experience they are only cheaper if you access to your own supply of wood, plus space to chop and store it.

But random wood that you pick up from woodlands is an important habitat for all kinds of creatures/plants/ mosses /lichens etc. It's really better for biodiversity to leave it there.

“Given that new gas boilers are apparently being banned at some point in the next decade or so that seems unlikely. “

New gas boilers have to be able to be converted to hydrogen which it is envisaged will come through the gas mains. Currently it is irrelevant because most gas boilers only last 20 yrs before they are obsolete, also hydrogen will leak from the current gas pipes, lastly there is no economic way to produce Hydrogen, yet.

If you do run a wood burner, I'd suggest buying an air quality monitor and taking readings outside when it's working. You might find the results sway your decision to use it.

We love ours.

Don't forget to include servicing, replacement parts and chimney sweeping.

I'd suggest buying an air quality monitor and taking readings outside when it's working

Any reason I shouldn't use that when the oil-fired boiler is running, too? Mmmm... kerosene fumes. So lovely.

It'll only be cheaper if you have your own supply of wood and space to store/dry it which isn't inconsiderable if you plan to use it instead of your normal heating.

We find that ovoids (coal) are much cheaper than wood. We don't have mains gas so our choice is oil or solid fuel for heating and hot water. Wood is prettier if you want to watch your money burning.

Before anyone suggests electric heating the only person with it fitted locally (a new system installed last summer) is having oil heating retrofitted because her electricity bill is so high.

@Sweptwindy17

If you do run a wood burner, I'd suggest buying an air quality monitor and taking readings outside when it's working. You might find the results sway your decision to use it.

Out of interest, I'll do that this weekend. We are three old houses on the edge of a village. We all have log burners. When I get home at night, there is sometimes a faint smell of wood smoke but it isn't unpleasant, and it's only there on those cold still nights with no breeze.

Hello. Popping in to let you know that we're doing a Q&A with fuel poverty charity National Energy Action about these energy price hikes on Wednesday 23rd Feb at 12 noon. The thread is now open for questions here.