For the past 12 winters, my wood burner has kept my family warm – and helped to slash our energy bills.
The two-and-half foot wide beast – a £3,000 Charnwood Island III wood burner – sits proudly in a large living room fireplace in my rural Hertfordshire home.
I paid a further £1,500 to clean, line and install a metal flue pipe in the chimney – and budget £100 a year for a professional chimney sweep to clean it.
Hooks on the ancient wall behind reveal my fireplace has been at the heart of this home for a couple of centuries, keeping countless generations – and once upon a time, even cattle – warm.
But today this vital feature of my home has been reduced in the eyes of many to a smug middle-class accessory. And the Labour Government is doing its best to snuff out wood burners.
Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, is on a crusade to make wood burners extinct in line with tough new emission demands from the European Union.
Contented glow: Toby in his living room with his trusty Charnwood Island III wood burner
Not only do I believe a responsibly used wood burner need not harm the planet but rather than break the bank, it offers a fabulous way to heat the home for free.
I calculate my wood burner has saved me £6,000 in fuel bills on my four-bedroom cottage, as it allows me to turn off the central heating a third of the time – typically knocking £600 a year off bills.
The cost of energy has soared in recent years, rising 38 per cent in the past five years. The average home pays £1,758 in energy bills, according to the price cap set by industry regulator Ofgem, up from £1,277 in 2021.
I am fortunate in that I can cut my wood for free and allow it to dry for a year before I throw it on a fire – but those who buy logs are likely to still find it cheaper than using central heating.
The cost of timber has increased in the past five years, with the price of seasoned logs rising more than 20 per cent and more energy efficient kiln-dried logs rising 25 pc in price. Having a cubic metre of kiln-dried logs delivered can cost £160.
It costs 8.4p per kWh to heat a home with logs, according to research by stove provider Charlton & Jenrick.
This is less than a third of the cost of electricity, which is currently capped at 27.69p per kWh, but higher than gas at 5.93p per kWh.
You might need around three loads of cubic metres of logs a year to keep the fire going so it radiates enough warmth to be enjoyed throughout the home – at a cost of just below £500 a year on wood. A single cubic metre may typically contain about 250 logs.
That means you could still shave hundreds of pounds a year from your energy bills.
The price of a brand new eco-friendly wood burner has also plummeted in recent years – falling by up to 30 per cent in some cases, experts say.
Campaigners hoping to put people off buying a wood burner have helped drive prices down, says Angus Muir, director of wood burner company Firefly London.
He says: ‘During Covid there was a huge upsurge in demand and wood burners were flying off the shelves. But when Labour got into power with its agenda, it suddenly decided wood burners were the devil’s work.
‘This led to a sudden fall in the price of new stoves – with prices typically falling by 20 pc. If you shop around, you can pay 30 per cent less than just a couple of years ago.’
Muir says you might pay £1,500 for a 5kWh wood burner that until recently was selling for £2,000.
Emissions: Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is on a crusade to make wood burners extinct
He adds that when shopping for a stove, you need to look at the potential kilowatts per hour (kWh) of energy it provides to heat the home. A 5kWh stove can heat an average room that is 20ft long by 15ft wide and 8ft high, he suggests.
Muir says: ‘You can pay as little as £500 for a really cheap Chinese-made wood burner but for quality you can trust, I recommend something with a reputable history, such as British manufacturers Charnwood or Stovax.’
Rather than buy online, you should speak to a local stove dealership or ask a chimney sweep for advice. Stoves should be installed by engineers with Heating Equipment Testing and Approved Scheme (Hetas) qualifications.
Some 1.9million homes enjoy the pleasure of a wood-burning stove. Burning wood is a carbon neutral form of energy – logs on the fire release a similar amount of carbon dioxide as a tree absorbed when growing.
You should also look out for an efficient burner, which will be more cost effective and emit a lower level of emissions, as long-term exposure to poor air quality can have an impact on health.
My wood burner has passed Ecodesign regulations to ensure an efficient burning of fuel – the air is circulated inside the stove to improve the way wood is burned so it can best heat the home. It also has a sealed glass door to stop pollutants getting out.
Charnwood research shows the latest Ecodesign stoves sold since 2022 are up to 80 per cent more efficient at reducing air pollution than the older models – and emit 90 per cent less particles than an open fire.
Cedric Wells, creative director at Charnwood, says: ‘It is important not to lump open fires in with the latest wood burners – which is something I am afraid the Government and Net Zero crusaders appear to be doing.’
It is important to burn logs with a moisture content of less than 20 per cent, as it is the most efficient and environmentally friendly option.
Wood sold in bulk of less than two metres cubed needs a Woodsure ‘Ready to Burn’ logo confirming this moisture content.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs can issue you with a £300 penalty if caught breaking this rule.
I own a £20 handheld log moisture meter, with which I can check the levels of each log with a short needle.
I enjoy the prospect of foraging for free fuel. Fortunately, I live close to an area of grassland that is a site of special scientific interest.
The Wildlife Trusts comes round at least once a year cutting down trees deemed to be a threat to the site’s grassland status. This provides a bountiful source of wood.
Fuel: It is important to burn logs with a moisture content of less than 20 per cent, as it is the most efficient and environmentally friendly option
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With my £200 Stihl chainsaw, I make quick work of large trunks left on the ground, though it is heavy work piling up the car and loading the wheelbarrow a dozen times to dump at home.
It is vital to ask permission from a landowner before cutting up a fallen tree on private land. I am careful when using my petrol chainsaw and have invested in safety equipment, spending some £50 on a helmet, goggles and gloves.
When a tree is chopped down, it is typically made up of 60 per cent water. You cannot simply throw it on a fire as it will not burn. Instead, you need to store it outside in a well-ventilated woodpile or shed for at least a year.
Within a month or so of collecting the wood I turn it into more manageable logs that are easier to stack and store.
Rather than wielding an axe, I have invested in a £50 blunt-ended splitting maul to break the timber into logs.
I also save around £5 by not buying firelighters but instead using orange peel that has been dried out in an oven on low heat. Another alternative is silver birch bark.
Ash is one of the best burners because the wood has a low moisture content, while other favourites include beech, birch and aromatic cherry.
But most plentiful where I live is oak, requiring two years of seasoning as a relatively slow-burning but efficient fuel.
Experts say a roaring fire in the home has its therapeutic benefits, too.
Erica Malkin, executive director of the Stove Industry Association, says: ‘Watching flickering flames can certainly lower the heart rate, it also brings life to the home and encourages people to congregate for warmth.
‘It can provide a trigger for conversation and offer a sense of company for those feeling isolated or living alone.’
