Ban Woodburning stoves!

Cardew

Because the price of wood has doubled in this area;)

To be perfectly serious, if this trend continues wood will become a very expensive way of heating!

penrhyn

Totally agree, some people think it grows on trees.

crphillips

In all fairness they were intended as a luxury item for peple with a reasonable amount of money. They were never intended as a cheap way of heating your home. You could always buy your wood wet and season it yourself......cuts down the costs massively.

If you base it on the fact that a lot of people wouldn't be without a fire anyway....simply for ambiance then any heat a stove produces is a bonus and in effect saving money as they'd have a fire running anyway. A house without a fire just doesn't seem right.

Cardew

I have an open fire to burn logs, I am not sure that a wood burner provides the same ambiance - well it wouldnt for me!

In any case several people on MSE seem to be buying a stove for reasons of economy.

I had several big trees that unfortunately had to be cut down so have been OK for some seasons, but have now discovered that the prices have quite literally doubled over that period.

shegar

Cardew wrote: »

Because the price of wood has doubled in this area;)

To be perfectly serious, if this trend continues wood will become a very expensive way of heating!

I agree , when I was in my last home few yrs ago wood and coal had started to go up , I knew when I moved here I wouldnt be taking the burner with me , plus due to not being able to get free wood any longer due to ill health , im glad I left it where it was. .

We live deep in the countryside and just because we live here does not entitle us to free wood, you cant just go down the lane and saw a tree up,

we have a lot of second home owners come here for the odd weekend in there second homes that have wood burners fitted, and thats why a lot of the wood as

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gone up here, cos if you can afford 2 homes then you can afford to heat them. As ive always said they are okay if you can get free wood but when you have to pay they are expensive to run, they seem to eat logs like children eat sweets:eek:

PennyForThem_2

I bought my multifuel stove because I have always had an open fire and a stove is 70%+ effecient as opposed to open fire which is 25% ish efficent.

Yes, it will reduce gas bill and it gives an alternative way of heating. I choose multifuel for exactly that.

crphillips

Cardew wrote: »

I have an open fire to burn logs, I am not sure that a wood burner provides the same ambiance - well it wouldnt for me!

Ah right.......the whole point of your post seems a bit pointless and completely confusing then!

Maybe the title should read, "ban open fires and get a wood burner because they're way more efficient"?

No wonder your finding it expensive heating your house with an open fire of around 10% efficiency.

A._Badger

Cardew wrote: »

Because the price of wood has doubled in this area;)

To be perfectly serious, if this trend continues wood will become a very expensive way of heating!

There's a tremendous amount of opportunism behind fuel prices, which rarely reflect changes in the actual costs of production. Even in a recession, oil prices have risen steeply, due to speculation, which has enabled steep price hikes by producers of just about every other fuel going - wood very much being no exception.

This has been compounded by the eco-warriors telling people to burn wood in preference to fossil fuel, thus helping to hype the market.

Ironically, just last night, I came across a fascinating attempt to compare the respective costs of heating your home. I have a strong suspicion that the figures aren't accurate - but they will give us something to go on (and which Cardew, of all the regular posters here, will be equipped to analyse).

http://www.johnsonfuelsupplies.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56:looking-after-fire-chimney&catid=35:energy-conservation&Itemid=55

crphillips

No mention of wood as a fuel in the provided link? Is this info elsewhere on the site? Quite interesting, looks like electric is the cheapest. Would need a lot more powerstations for everyone to run on economy 7 though.

A._Badger

I imagine it would be impossible to calculate a price of using wood due to the widely fluctuating calorific value of different loads and the constantly shifting price.

I'm very sceptical about the claimed cheapness of electricity, but no doubt someone will be along who has time to do the maths.

Cardew

crphillips wrote: »

Ah right.......the whole point of your post seems a bit pointless and completely confusing then!

Maybe the title should read, "ban open fires and get a wood burner because they're way more efficient"?

No wonder your finding it expensive heating your house with an open fire of around 10% efficiency.

Where have I complained about the expense of heating my house?

Did you not understand that the thread title was a little TIC?? I can spell it out s l o w l y to you if you haven't understood.

My open fire is an indulgence - I have Gas CH and, to use your expression, in that room it is lit, on occasion, for the ambiance.

It was an attempt(obviously lost on you!) to point out in a humourous manner that demand for logs has driven up the price.