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LONDON. — Before central heating, fire was the main way of keeping a house warm. But as radiators were rolled out widely during the 1960s and 1970s many fireplaces and stoves in older homes were removed or fell into disrepair.
The last time the Government took stock back in 2015, it found that only 7.5 per cent of the UK population was burning wood to help keep warm, with just 2.3 per cent using it as their sole heating source.
But now all the evidence suggests that households worried about soaring energy bills are turning back to wood-burning stoves to save money.
The tradespeople that install and clean log stoves are working flat out to meet demand this year, according to clean fuel organisation Hetas.
Bruce Allen, chief executive officer for Hetas, said the firm has “seen unprecedented demand for solid fuel heating this winter.”
He added: “Demand has reached such a point that some of our approved chimney sweeps and heating installers are having to confirm bookings well into 2023 in order to keep up with the number of enquiries they are receiving.”
Are wood stoves cheaper than central heating?
The answer is: it depends. To really tackle the question, individuals need to weigh up what size log burner they have, their central heating system, how warm they like to be and the cost of wood versus gas or electricity.
However, as a rough rule of thumb it is almost always cheaper to buy and burn logs than it is to use gas central heating or electric heaters, provided you have a wood burner already installed. Bruce Allen said that seasoned logs are “the cheapest domestic heating fuel after kerosene, costing homeowners 10.37p per kWh versus 12.81p per kW for mains gas and 39.21p per kW for electricity.”
But what log stoves do is different to what central heating does.
That is because central heating normally warms every room in a house, whereas a log stove or open fire heats just one.
That said, some wood burner users claim they can heat multiple rooms with just one fire. It is possible to heat your whole house using a boiler burning wood, solid fuel or bioethanol, but these are not common. — Daily Mail.
Online Reporter