Woodburners

There’s nothing quite like a real fire – either to warm yourself by, or simply to sit gazing at – but traditional open fires have their problems.


For one thing they can be fairly dirty things to have in your living room, but with wood burning stoves, although you will have to clean them out ever week or so, gone are the days of cleaning and relaying the fire anew each morning.


Having a layer of ash gradually building up on the base actually helps the logs to burn and with their enclosed design, today’s wood burning stoves can burn round the clock, without the ever-present danger of falling logs setting fire to your house. Although soot accumulation on the glass used to be a problem, many of the modern designs also have an air-wash which cleans it for you – so you never need lose the sight of dancing flames.


Wood burning stoves are also much more efficient than an open grate fire; most of the draughts in houses with fires are caused as hot air – that you’ve paid to heat – shoots up the chimney and sucks in cold air from outside to replace it. While an open fire has been estimated to be only around 20 or 25 per cent efficient, wood burning stoves manage over 80 per cent – an instant and massive saving in energy.


For the eco-conscious, the carbon neutral nature of wood is a big bonus too. Logs are a sustainable fuel – just as long as we keep planting trees – and since they only release the “modern” carbon they took up when they were growing, unlike fossil fuels that contribute ancient carbon to the air – their net effect on the atmosphere is zero.


Pick a model with a “clean-burn” or “clean-heat" system and your heating becomes even greener. These wood burning stoves re-circulate the combustible gases given off as the wood burns, increasing the heating benefit and reducing emissions.