Log burner or electric heating for garden office

217 Posts


Hi all,
I've just had a garden office built. All fully insulated with a flat rubber roof. Too far from the main house to be connected to the central heating.
Its 10ft by 24ft so i think it needs a 2kw heater. When i originally ordered the building i was going to heat it with an electric radiator or electric fire which are of course inexpensive (£50?) but expensive to run. my estimate is that it will use 12kw a day to heat, so if electric hits 50p/kwh in October thats £6 a day...ouch
Other option is a log burner as i do use logs for the main house. 20% of our logs are free from a bit of land i have, but the majority i buy in bulk. Id estimate 10p/kwh cost for wood
However you are talking approx £2.5k to supply and install a log burner. Assuming i use the heating for 100 days in winter that gives me a payback period of 6 years which seems too high to justify the spend, plus electric heaters have thermostats.
Anyone else investigated a similar scenario? do my figures stack up? I do love a log stove
I've just had a garden office built. All fully insulated with a flat rubber roof. Too far from the main house to be connected to the central heating.
Its 10ft by 24ft so i think it needs a 2kw heater. When i originally ordered the building i was going to heat it with an electric radiator or electric fire which are of course inexpensive (£50?) but expensive to run. my estimate is that it will use 12kw a day to heat, so if electric hits 50p/kwh in October thats £6 a day...ouch
Other option is a log burner as i do use logs for the main house. 20% of our logs are free from a bit of land i have, but the majority i buy in bulk. Id estimate 10p/kwh cost for wood
However you are talking approx £2.5k to supply and install a log burner. Assuming i use the heating for 100 days in winter that gives me a payback period of 6 years which seems too high to justify the spend, plus electric heaters have thermostats.
Anyone else investigated a similar scenario? do my figures stack up? I do love a log stove
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So, if yours is also well insulated, you may not find the heating is much of an issue. We went for a woodburner for ambience as well as the fact over half our wood supply is from our own trees. Even if we had to buy 100% of the wood, I still would have the burner as it is in keeping with the age of the building and style and I really like having the burner going. So, the cost is not a driver on my side but a lifestyle choice.
I am hoping the heat side of the aircon won't get much use due to the insulation. Maybe a short burst in the morning whilst the burner builds up.
No cavity in my building just 100mm celotex insulation boards all round behind 40mm loglap cladding
Building Regulations still apply to outbuildings. What is not of concern most of the time is Planning, as sheds generally fall within permitted development. So installing a log burner needs to comply with building regs regardless of where it is located.
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