We all know that the wood-burning stove market has increased dramatically over the last 20 years. The technology associated with the industry has come on in leaps and bounds and the modern day wood-burning stove bears little resemblance to those of 20 years ago with regards to technology. We therefore thought it would be interesting to list four reasons to install a wood-burning stove in your house and the benefits it will bring.
Unique feature
Each room has a focal point whether this is a coal fire, television, an outstanding piece of furniture or a wood-burning stove. There are obviously other benefits to installing a wood-burning stove but such is the variety today that you can buy one to go perfectly with your interior decor. Inset stoves, stand-alone stoves, vertical stoves, horizontal stoves and many more are available on the market today.
There is a fierce debate as to whether a wood-burning stove adds any value to a property when you come to sell it but it certainly does not lose money. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that the addition of a wood-burning stove will give you a better chance of obtaining your full asking price. A stove makes a property look homely, warm, decorative and different. If you have the stereotypical round cast-iron wood-burning stove in your mind, think again! The choice of styles, varieties, power and colour will blow your mind.
Boiler system
The jury seems to be split somewhat with regards to the benefits of a wood-burning stove and connected hot water boiler system. A lot of the potential benefits from this arrangement will come down to the cost of the wood fuel and whether it is locally available at a competitive price. If you do have a large wood-burning stove then it does make sense to investigate the potential addition of a boiler system. This would ensure that any heat created is used as efficiently as possible and there are also cost savings on your traditional boiler system which is likely gas or electric power.
There is no hard and fast rule with regards to the financial viability of a boiler system connected to your wood-burning stove. However, for those who like to live a more environmentally friendly life and maximise the energy created in their house, it is worth looking at.
Environmentally friendly
Fitted correctly the modern day wood-burning stove is extremely environmentally friendly – especially those which have a double burn facility which burns the gases created in the first combustion cycle. New technology means that there is minimal air-pollution out of the flue/chimney and with reduced demand for electricity this will also eliminate at least some additional air pollution from power stations.
Many people also fail to notice that while the burning of wood does produce a limited amount of CO2 emissions this is certainly no greater, and often less, than the CO2 absorbed by a tree during its lifetime. This is why burning high quality wood is deemed carbon neutral at worst because the amount of carbon created by the stove is less than that absorbed by a tree. Wood is also one of the few fuel alternatives which can be replaced by simply planting another tree. Some in the media tend to give a slightly biased end picture, the creation of CO2 gas when wood is burned, while conveniently forgetting about how much is absorbed by the tree.
Rising energy costs
The cost of gas and electricity seems to go up and up and with fossil fuels set to become more difficult to obtain in the longer term, this trend is not going to change. There are obviously other alternatives such as nuclear power but this type of power has not only its own cost challenges but safety issues. You only need to look back at your gas and electric bills over the last five years to see the constant growth in the cost per unit.
The UK government, and others around the world, is more than happy to encourage environmentally friendly energy sources such as wood. While consumers continue to pay VAT and other taxes on electric and gas energy the tax burden on wood is significantly less. As the authorities have ever more stringent pollution targets to hit we will see a greater emphasis on environmentally friendly energy sources which should increase the cost differential between wood-burning stoves and the cost of gas and electric.
That is four reasons to install a wood-burning stove!