Wood burner: I know this has been done to death, but I'm rural and now conflicted.

[user1471530109]

I've finally got the money together to do some of the many jobs around the house. Moved in 5+ years ago and it's been a hard slog.

I've always planned to add a wood burner. I'm rural but we do have gas in the small village. My boiler froze in the v cold snap before Christmas and I had no other source of heating and it made me convinced the woodburner was going in!

But the money is sat there and I'm not sure it's the right move after all the bad press. Surely they won't ban them in villages and rural areas? Maybe towns and cities? I know the health issues-that obviously worries me too. In the winter, when it's a very still day, the smoke outside from all the wood burners is thick! But I'm guessing most of these are ancient stoves in the many v old houses round here.

I've toyed with a gas stove but I keep thinking that's daft with the gas prices going through the roof.

Any other options? I'm not overly convinced by electric. A wood burner in rural areas the best option?

Tia

I think the chart added upthread re relative household emissions is misleading. In terms of direct emissions from your house, yes, but it doesn't include the emissions from the production of oil, gas and electric, which are hardly insignificant.

They will never be banned from rural areas OP - cracknon with getting it fitted and enjoy it.

Get a indoor particulate monitor if you are concerned with how it affects indoor air quality - you will likely find that it makes basically no difference,& probably discover that mundane things you've never thought much about, like accidentally burning toast or using candles, are far worse.

We are in a village and use ours most days from Sept to March. But then its our only source of heat apart from plug in heaters.

We get free wood and its fully seasoned.

@StillWantingADog sure happy to answer questions but do also tag me on here just in case I miss the PM as I mostly use the app

Sent you a pm 😀

I really appreciate everyone's replies. If you've taken the time to reply-thank you.

Still on a cheap tariff for my gas. It runs out in October. Presumably I'm in for a nasty shock!

Those of you using them to supplement your gas CH-are you saying the wood is cheaper? Including costs for sweeping chimney etc?

Thanks again

I have a multi fuel burner - came with the house, we do use it when it’s particularly cold as we have no gas and the oil central heating isn’t quite good enough to heat the house.

But from a cost point of view, unless you can get free wood and have the space to season it, it’s really not cheap to run, solid fuel is also really expensive - and has risen massively at the same time gas and electric have.

Thanks. I feel like it would help weather any more possible hikes though. Especially if I am buying wood a year in advance.

I've asked for another quote as last one was in August. I expect the money I have put aside won't be enough now.

Does anyone have a 5kw stove they'd recommend? Only a small house and living room. Budget friendly but obviously with all the eco credentials.

Tia

I use mine most days and little heating, as I wfh. It stays warm for ages after it’s gone out too.

I live in a rural village and detest these things with a passion. We have no mains gas so all of the houses around me are oil heating. When the price of domestic heating oil shot up, several neighbours had them installed. Now, my house stinks, my hair stinks, my clothes stink and the smoke triggers migraines and asthma. Even just nipping out to the car fills the house (and the car) with the smell of woodsmoke. Can't open windows for a breath of fresh air.

I wish they would ban them in villages. House on your own? Crack on! But if you have neighbours, please be considerate and think how much you are impacting them.

using candles

that's an interesting point, because of course when the power goes we get the candles out.

i'm never quite sure why wood burner owners are in such denial about the pollution their stoves are causing, we don't deny that our car use, plane flights and food choices contribute to pollution levels do we?

Yes ours is the Charnwood c5, comes in lovely colours too.

I have two Charnwood stoves, one is a 5kw and I’d highly recommend beyond an annual sweep and a bit of braid they’ve needed no maintenance over last ten years. If you’re not married to a particular design I’d go down to a showroom and have a look. I got my 5kw Charnwood multifuel ex display for £800 retail was nearly £2k.

Natural gas is about the cleanest fossil fuel you can burn. Mostly CO2 and water vapour (that is the "smoke" that comes out of a boiler flue). Particulates are very low from complete combustion, which is why you don't need the flue "sweeping" and gas fires/boilers produce very little soot. The combustion process can be controlled to a high level of efficiency because the input fuel is relatively highly controlled compared to something like wood, so the optimum conditions in the boiler for maximum energy output and minimum pollution can be more easily obtained.

It's also pretty cheap. I'm convinced that when a lot of people who burn wood say it's "cheap" that they don't factor in their time to collect, process and store wood, as well as feeding it to fires, cleaning out the stoves after burning and the cost of cleaning chimneys. All this without consideration of the environmental cost. I think it is pretty telling that if you ask someone who has been burning wood for a long time, they will often say that they would prefer mains gas by a long way (a few on this thread).

A multifuel stove is a wonderful thing. Wang on smokeless ovoids and you have a gorgeous heat for up to 12 hours for very little effort, and even with the price rises, coal is still just about cheaper than gas and oil.

It also means that you can boil water on the top if you are that way inclined, and dry clothes inside quickly if you need to by putting them on an airer in front of it (it's fab for drying swimming stuff and other items that can't go in a tumble dryer).

Why on earth did your boiler freeze? Is it poorly sited, old or do you have non-existent insulation? Surely you would be best off fixing this issue first?

You have said it yourself smoke from other people's burners hangs around and you can smell it, so it would be better not to add to it.

If you can afford a stove could you could look at getting a home battery which could give you power during an outage. Solar hot water or photovoltaic panels would also help towards your energy bills without filling the air with particulates.

It was -15°C! For days! It's a new boiler and I kept it on all night. But the condensation pipe still froze. I have insulated temporarily and will be adding proper insulation.

My house is actually at the top of a big hill so although the smoke in the village on a still cold night is very obvious, I don't think the position of where I am would add to that.

I'm also very aware of being without power regularly. One notable one was being without power most of Christmas day a few years back. Our water supply seems to be unreliable too! A wood burner just feels like a safer bet. Unless I found it made a huge difference to my bills, I can't see me lighting it daily, more on v cold days during the winter holidays or weekends. I'm a single parent so I won't be lugging logs for the sake of it. It's more of a back up.

At the same time, I'm worried about making an expensive mistake! I certainly can't afford batteries and solar panels. I've looked into it more than once. My household income is below the UK average (but only my income). It's not an option unfortunately.

8m having a quote this week. It may be out of my reach now given the price hikes. I'd still like a power cut free alternative! 🤞

Just to add, I had no idea if the pipe on the boiler froze, the boiler still turns on but sounds like it's going to explode! Of course all the gas engineers were v busy that week but a neighbour helped me out. Still 3 days without heating ❄️

@user1471530109 mine does that too in prolonged cold. It’s the outflow pipe. I’m getting mine rerouted before next winter so that it is less likely to freeze . thank god for the wood burner!
We have solar panels, but they’re not much help in winter

I’m still using wood from a couple of years ago so from that pov it’s keeping my bills down this winter when things are tough . It’s not hard work at all bringing in wood as I don’t use much. I tend to light it during the day when wfh when it gets cold in the afternoon , so no heating on, then it dies out but the embers keep us warm in the evening. It is a small house though.