Central heating or Log burner

chrisss_2

Hi, We live in a rented accommodation and we have a assured tenancy and our rent is fairly cheap but our landlord wont upgrade our heating and so we are looking to pay for it our self's. currently we only have electric plug in heater and a gas fire in the living room which cost a fortune to run and were looking either getting gas central or possibly a multifuel burner.  Our house is only a small two up two down and was wondering if anyone thinks a wood burner in the living room be enough to heat most of our house if we used some type of fans to move the heat around the rest of the house?

Thanks

QrizB

Of your existing options, the gas fire is probably half the cost to run that the plug-in heater is.

How long is your tenancy for? Do you really want to spend several thousands on improving somebody else's house?

Do you live somewhere rural, where you can guarantee to pick up free wood?

FreeBear

QrizB said: Do you live somewhere rural, where you can guarantee to pick up free wood?

And do you have a covered space outdoors to store & season a large quantity of logs ?

Do not underestimate just how much you would get through in a winter - I have the equivalent of two 10x6 sheds packed to the roof with logs. One for the coming winter, and the other pile for the following winter. With everyone jumping on the wood burning band wagon,  it is going to cost me a fortune to restock unless I can score a lorry load or two of "free" logs.

chrisss_2

QrizB said:

Of your existing options, the gas fire is probably half the cost to run that the plug-in heater is.

How long is your tenancy for? Do you really want to spend several thousands on improving somebody else's house?

Do you live somewhere rural, where you can guarantee to pick up free wood?

Hi, We have lifelong tenancy. My Best friend installs central heating and log burners so i wouldn't cost me that much to get either installed.  He quoted me 2k to get central heating installed and a log burner somewhat less

Yes, i live in a rural area, there are fields near to me.. and i have a garden to store the wood

We live in the south of England so it doesn't usually get that cold

QrizB

Sounds like either option could work out OK.

Personally, I'd choose the gas CH over the woodburner as it needs less active management - it should just work, on demand, whenever you need it.

mmmmikey

Hi - I have a log burner and swicthed my electric heaters off in March to see if the log burner would keep the bungalow comfortable on it's own. The answer is a qualified yes. The bedrooms are OK but definitely a lot cooler - for me that's fine, but if you have a family and kids doing homework in bedrooms for example, it may be too cool for that. Also, I have to use an electric heater in the bathroom. On the flip side, that's in a bungalow and a 2 up 2 down is going to naturally distribute the heat better, so even without fans I think you'd be OK, just with the caveat that the living room will be a lot warmer than the rest of the house. There's not a huge amount of work in keeping the log burner going but it does need more looking after than gas cenral heating. For me that's a pleasure but it depends entriely on your outlook and for you that may be a chore, which is worth considering too.

macman

Stop using an electric fire downstairs, it's costing you about 350% more to run than the gas fire! If the gas fire is inadequate, then can you uprate it? If it's an old open-fronted one, they are notoriously inefficient. If so, change it for a modern one. 
You could install another gas fire upstairs relatively cheaply.
Unless your mate works for free, I can see no way to install a complete system from scratch for £2k. Has he actually done a site survey for you, and checked the gas supply, which may need upgrading for a combi? Boiler, rads, TRV's, pipework, programmer...?
Removal of existing immersion and tank if going to a combi? If he also installs woodburners, then he should be able to tell you if one would be adequate to heat through the house, though I doubt if it would cover upstairs too.

GrumpyDil

Will your landlord even agree to you fitting a log burner or central heating?

Also when you say you have a lifetime tenancy what exactly do you mean. Is it genuinely a very old tenancy meaning landlord has very limited option to evict you or something else?

I keep having to point out to my tenants that whilst I'm happy with the way they have decorated the house, it's not theirs and I could serve a S21 on them or simply decide to sell the house. I'm just making the point that unless you do have a totally secure tenancy I would try and avoid investing in the property. 

macman

Selling the house does not end their tenancy though. You could so so, but the tenancy just transfers to the new owner unless you have first obtained vacant possession.

ariarnia

we have both gsh and a multi fuel stove in a three bed semi detached. if it was a choice between one or the other wed have gone for the central heating no question. the stove is great and we do really use it but it only works for us because the radiators give a basic low level of heat everywhere that chases out the damp and takes off the chill. then the stove tops up. on those weeks when we've been away over winter and not had the heating on then coming home to a cold house the stove by itself really struggles to take that first chill off everywhere that's not the lounge. 

markin

Upgrading the gas fire seems the cheapest to run and install option, and if the bedrooms are a little cool use an electric blanket to pre-heat the bed.