Remove 58% efficient gas fire and replace with 82% efficient wood burning stove?

savemoney

Its mostly wood briquettes. Started off paying £200 a full pallet now its £320 some are £375 like verdo in just a couple of years and I tend to buy in Summer when I usually get around £20 knocked off

I use to gets seasoned logs a tipper load for £110 but even that went up to £150 about 5 years ago.

I dont live in city either have a huge forest dalby forest on door step


Its a lot cheaper unless you have free wood or very cheap to burn 1kWh of gas at 3.33 kWh as I do.

I use to store wood in old garage still have racks for it. I do chop odd pallet and bits of wood I have no use for as I do make thing with wood from time to time but no where near enough to keep for log burner just outside chimnea for Summer BBQ

Ectophile wrote: »

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.

richardc1983

So the concensus is keep the gas fire and use it as we want to I guess.

FreeBear

Ectophile wrote: »

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.

Even if you are lucky enough to get seasoned wood at a reasonable price, you still need a fair bit of space to store it. I have two sheds (an 8'x6' and a 10'x6') and I'm in need of a third. Hopefully have enough to last this winter.

A wood or multifuel stove makes quite a bit of mess - The ash gets everywhere when cleaning it out, and bringing in logs leaves a trail of mess too - Bugs also like to take up residence under the bark and will emerge when they get warm.

G_M

richardc1983 wrote: »

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.

Burning wood? Green? Seems to depend who you believe and what kind of stove.

The future for wood burning stoves Are wood burning stoves to be banned?

Not if already installed. After 2020 new models will have to confirm to Ecodesign standards. And so they should. Every open fire upgraded to a new Ecodesign stove will reduce particle emissions by up to 90%. Technology moves on and if it exists and we can make the world a better place then so we should.

The Government will ban the sale of stoves that don't meet environmental standards, encourage the sale of cleaner wood and ask those who own older, less green stoves to consider upgrading. It could also introduce "no-burn notices" that give councils the power to block people from using their stoves on days when air quality is particularly low.

richardc1983

Bugs puts me right off

matelodave

Have you investigated the cost of the stove, it's installation and the possibilty of getting the chimney relined if necessary. Add in the cost of wood or briquettes and the storage thereof. Wood can be stored outside, under cover but briquettes need to be kept dry so you need a shed or garage to keep them.

As others have said you can buy an awful lot of gas for what a stove will cost and all the aggro that goes with it.

we've got a stove, coz we are all electric and it's a backup for when we have power cuts but TBH I doubt it's any cheaper to run than our heatpump, but obviously more attractive.

I'd stay with gas if I were you - if you are really all that concerned replace your gas fire for a more efficient one but at best you might save 1p/kwh so try and work out how many pennies you need to save before you break even

richardc1983

matelodave wrote: »

Have you investigated the cost of the stove, it's installation and the possibilty of getting the chimney relined if necessary. Add in the cost of wood or briquettes and the storage thereof. Wood can be stored outside, under cover but briquettes need to be kept dry so you need a shed or garage to keep them.

As others have said you can buy an awful lot of gas for what a stove will cost and all the aggro that goes with it.

we've got a stove, coz we are all electric and it's a backup for when we have power cuts but TBH I doubt it's any cheaper to run than our heatpump, but obviously more attractive.

I'd stay with gas if I were you

Yeah we can get a package deal for 2k have had a few quotes and that includes everything from a local respected company.

The fire we have is the Valor Icon: Whilst it is a lovely fire when on it is 58% efficient and the fact it is not at floor level means the radiant heat does not heat your feet and floor area where you actually want the heat. The other option is to change to a modern gas fire that is like a stove again restoring the heart of the home. That's going to be just as costly if not more as gas fire stoves are even more expensive!

matelodave

do the sums - 58% efficient at 3p/kwh means its probably costing you around 5.2p/kwh. an 89% efficient gas fire would cost you around 3.4p/kwh

However a wood stove would cost around 6p/kwh or more for briquettes (at £3 for 10kg - £5 for 10kg in Tesco at the moment), possibly a bit less for a pile of real wood dumped on the drive.

Wood stoves are around 80%-85% efficient (unless you spaend a decent amount), so say 6p x 85% efficient = 7p/kwh

So the cheaper option is to get a high efficiency gas fire and maybe save around 2p/kwh - it would probably cost less than £2k, even if it cost just £500 you'd have to use 25,000kw to break even.

However go for a log burner if tha'ts what you really want but dont think that it's going to save you money unless you can get lots of free wood for quite a few years into the future.

Davesnave

Looking at the whole package, I'd go with an efficient modern gas fire in a surround that enhances the style of the home.

I think we spent around £3k doing that 20 years ago, and it was worth it, considering that our house had a previous owner who'd removed any character it had retained since the 1930s.

Yes, we had the new bathroom and kitchen etc, but it was the main reception people commented on, and which I always think of when remembering the house. So many houses now lack a focal point, or they have a 5' telly, or some hideous fake fireplace from B&Q which lowers the tone straight away.

One day you may come to sell. The fire won't add value, but it might make a favourable impression easier to create and the house easier to sell.

Just my opinion!