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Remove 58% efficient gas fire and replace with 82% efficient wood burning stove?
richardc1983
Posts: 2,157 Forumite
Hey all,
I am looking for a bit of advise this time.
We no longer use our inset flush fit mounted gas fire as it costs a lot to run, as nice as it looks it is a Valor Icon and was fitted in approx 2005 prior to us buying the house. It is very modern but does not have a glass front on it and is very inefficient.
We miss the cosy radiant heat by not having it on and are debating and costing up to take it out, open up the fireplace and fit a wood burning stove to restore the heart of the home.
Gas is obviously cheaper, so we have two options, replace with a new more efficient gas fire. There are gas fire models that are flu less as well that are sold as 100% efficient or similar to what we already have that are about 85% efficient. These gas fires (looking at stove imitation types) seem very expensive.
Or the other option is to go for a wood burning stove. The fire will be used for cosy evenings and weekends as we have a decent working central heating system with recently replaced boiler. The fireplace will be purely for a cosy look and supplementary heat on cold nights.
Were in Leeds so the wood burner would need to be DEFRA approved to comply with smoke regulations in our area.
https://www.stoveworlduk.co.uk/DEFRA-Approved-Multi-Fuel-Woodburning-Stoves/5kw-Eco-Design-Stove-Slimline-Panoramic?sort=p.price&order=ASC
Any help gratefully received.
I am looking for a bit of advise this time.
We no longer use our inset flush fit mounted gas fire as it costs a lot to run, as nice as it looks it is a Valor Icon and was fitted in approx 2005 prior to us buying the house. It is very modern but does not have a glass front on it and is very inefficient.
We miss the cosy radiant heat by not having it on and are debating and costing up to take it out, open up the fireplace and fit a wood burning stove to restore the heart of the home.
Gas is obviously cheaper, so we have two options, replace with a new more efficient gas fire. There are gas fire models that are flu less as well that are sold as 100% efficient or similar to what we already have that are about 85% efficient. These gas fires (looking at stove imitation types) seem very expensive.
Or the other option is to go for a wood burning stove. The fire will be used for cosy evenings and weekends as we have a decent working central heating system with recently replaced boiler. The fireplace will be purely for a cosy look and supplementary heat on cold nights.
Were in Leeds so the wood burner would need to be DEFRA approved to comply with smoke regulations in our area.
https://www.stoveworlduk.co.uk/DEFRA-Approved-Multi-Fuel-Woodburning-Stoves/5kw-Eco-Design-Stove-Slimline-Panoramic?sort=p.price&order=ASC
Any help gratefully received.
If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->
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Comments
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This being a money saving site, I suggest you leave it alone.
(You can buy a lot of gas for the cost of a wood burner.)0 -
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This being a money saving site, I suggest you leave it alone.
(You can buy a lot of gas for the cost of a wood burner.)
This is starting to be our thinking, do we use the existing gas fire which still works absolutely fine?If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->0 -
richardc1983 wrote: »This is starting to be our thinking, do we use the existing gas fire which still works absolutely fine?
Of course. I doubt replacing it with even the more efficient gas one will recoup your cost in its lifetime.0 -
Of course. I doubt replacing it with even the more efficient gas one will recoup your cost in its lifetime.
Yes you are probably right, it would just be nice to know we are being a bit greener and more efficient but money is what it all comes down to.If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->0 -
Wood is good for supplementing a heating system. Not replacing it. You particularly find those on oil fired boilers look to have a burner to keep the costs down. It can allow you to not having the heating until later in the season or later in the evening. It can allow you to turn some radiators right down. However, it is not good really suitable for a complete replacement of gas.
For example, our radiators fired up this morning but I am going to be working in one room today and it's chilly. So, the wood burner is on for that room rather than waste firing up the radiators for the whole house.0 -
Wood is good for supplementing a heating system. Not replacing it. You particularly find those on oil fired boilers look to have a burner to keep the costs down. It can allow you to not having the heating until later in the season or later in the evening. It can allow you to turn some radiators right down. However, it is not good really suitable for a complete replacement of gas.
For example, our radiators fired up this morning but I am going to be working in one room today and it's chilly. So, the wood burner is on for that room rather than waste firing up the radiators for the whole house.
But surely would be cheaper to run the rad in the room your in and turn the others off?
We would use it as a feature piece but is it worth paying out for changing a gas fire to wood burner. It would be supplementary.If you found my post helpful, please remember to press the THANKS button! --->0 -
richardc1983 wrote: »But surely would be cheaper to run the rad in the room your in and turn the others off?
We would use it as a feature piece but is it worth paying out for changing a gas fire to wood burner. It would be supplementary.
No. I work from home. So, that would mean turning off around 20 radiators at the start of the day and then turning them back on again at the end of the day. Plus, the room with the thermostat (where there are no TRVs) happens to be the largest room with the two biggest radiators. So, they would be on all the time as well. Plus, that room has the most used doorway to the house and is opened pretty much once every hour or two during the day making heating that room in the daytime largely pointless.
We have three burners in the house. Around 3pm I will put the last log on the fire in the room I am working from as that will see me through to the end of the working day. At that time, I will also fire up the hallway burner which is the best of the three as it has significant airflow to multiple rooms. That allows us to have the main heating fire up later and it also means that about 9 radiators will not come on much at all. So, it reduces oil use. We have gone from using around 3500 litres a year to 2100 litres with the burners. Which is about £700 in savings. If we were buying wood, that would eat up around £400 of that. However, we are self-sufficient in wood.
How the heat flows from a burner will very much depend on your house layout. Some will find a burner only heats the room it is in. Others will have heat flow into multiple rooms. The latter makes a difference to your bills. The former is more about ambience/feature/lifestyle. Although some people may live mostly in one room and not need other parts of the house heated until close to bedtime and early morning. So, there is potential for it to be cost-effective with the right living/working style.
If you are looking at cost efficiency, it's unlikely to recover its initial outlay unless your house type and living/working style is of a particular type. In our case, if I was purely looking at cost efficiency, then spending the money on insultation improvements would have been far more beneficial. However, if you are looking at ambience, lifestyle enhancing/cosiness, then the cost may well be worth it. We are remote with fields all around with big old fashioned windows that get weather battered and on a wet autumn/cold winters day, the fire burning away is more relaxing than gas/electrical heating.0 -
Wood stove is expensive these days. Had one for 10 years this year I wont buy any wood as its silly prices now, unless of course you have a source for free or very cheap fuel. too many people buying and using stoves now. I only use mine once a in while and will buy occasional wood briquettes rather than bulk buy0
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I can't say I have noticed any massive increase in prices where I live. maybe an extra £10 on a pick-up truck full over the last 5 years.
But most of my wood is free these days - just a lot of hard work and being patient enough to store it for 2 years before burning it.If it sticks, force it.
If it breaks, well it wasn't working right anyway.0
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