Wood Burners Could Be The Answer To Heating Your Home This Winter

The ever-rising cost of gas, oil and electricity has fired the imagination of householders trying to save on their heating bills. It’s not only good news for environment, it’s also providing a growing business for people involved in forestry and those selling wood and log-burning stoves.

The experience of George Newburn, who runs Lytham Logs on the Fylde, is typical. He supplies high quality natural hardwood and softwood from sustainable plantations in Cumbria.

‘It’s amazing how many people are contacting me because they’ve had a wood-burning stove installed that day,’ he says. ‘I ran out of wood in the middle of January last year so I’ve now got 300 cubic metres of logs in stock.’

That’s a lot when you consider a normal sized rubbish skip hold just five cubic metres. ‘Wood is carbon neutral and people are starting to accept the environmental arguments,’ he adds. ‘People are using more wood and less coal, which has to be shipped from places like Poland.’

George does have some words of caution, however. ‘If we keep burning hardwood at the current rate we will run out one day. Softwood is cheaper and quicker to grown. In fact, it grows twice as quickly but it doesn’t burn twice as fast.

‘People with open fires don’t like it because it has a higher resin content and that causes it to spit. But it’s fine for wood-burners and we need to start educating people about the difference.’

John Stanley launched Vesta Stoves in Scarisbrick five years ago. ‘We are probably one of the only companies in the country that actually makes wood-burners rather than importing them,’ he says.

‘Wood-burners are increasing in popularity all the time and they do have lots of advantages. With gas prices going up and up, they are seen as a real investment and they are much more efficient and controllable than an open fire where about 80 per cent of the heat goes up the chimney.

‘If you burn £200 a year on an open fire, that would come down to about £50 a year with a wood-burner. The payback is almost instant.

‘Wood-burners with boilers are becoming massively more popular now as well. They are a big investment – you need a different kind of water tank for one thing – and the payback time is nearer ten years but they can reduce fuel bills dramatically.’

Nick Astley, who runs Fuelmizas, retailing a wide range of wood-burners in Ribchester, believes the economic argument is the main driver. ‘The powers that be would like to think people are buying wood-burners because they are carbon neutral and envionmentally-friendly but it’s really the price of fuel that’s causing the change.

‘Some are put off because they have concerns about living in restricted areas but you can now get Defra-approved wood-burners for smoke-free zones.

‘Others have visions of having to go out to collect wood, chop it with an axe, stack it and season the logs. But life’s too short. Like most people, we simply have the wood delivered.’ Cue George.

An impressive range of wood and multifuel stoves are available from Stove Megastore, as well as a heat powered stove fan that can help distribute heat around the room, further reducing the amount of fuel needed.

New Range Of Apex Stoves

Apex have recently released a new range of stoves to supply the increasing demand for that traditional stove look and feel. With energy prices shooting up and up (again!) and modern gas fires or stoves simply not offering the feel and look of a traditional wood burner.

This new range of Apex stoves all feature a full heavy guage cast iron body, incorporating a dual wall. This eliminates the need fpr traditional firebricks to line the interior of the stove, offering larger internal space so producing more heat for less space!

As with most stoves on the market they also feature an airwash system the keep the window clean and allow the glow from the fire to radiate out into the room, further adding to the experience of a wood burning stove!
These brand new Apex stoves also come with supremely high quality heat resistant glass to ensure that your view of the burning logs inside is never compromised.

The smallest of the new range is the Apex Newbury wood burning stove, this smaller sized stove offers a maximum heat output of 5kW making it ideal for smaller living spaces! This traditionally styled stove combines traditional styling with modern technology to offer a high heat output, highlighted with brass handles and hinges that help break up the traditional matt black cast iron finish as well as traditional detailing on both the air control spinners and around the top of the stove and door, creating a stove that rivals the Aga Little Wenlock is size, but offers a higher heat output and at a lower price, meaning The Apex Newbury is great value for money!

A stove offering slightly more heat output over the Newbury is the Apex Keighley, this stove offers up to 9kW of heat output and offers the same high-quality finish that all the other Apex stoves boast. Unlike the Newbury the Keighley features chrome controls to contrast the matt black finish. The Keighley offers a larger viewing window with a traditional and stylish arch detailing that offers style without compromising views on the fire inside. The Keighley also boasts traditional engraved detailing around the door and relief detailing down each side of the stove. As with all the Apex Stoves the Keighley also comes with adjustable air controls, these mean the fire can be "adjusted" to burn slower and provide background heat or give out the maximum 9kW of heat for those cold wintry nights.

The largest in terms of size of the new Apex fires range is the Henley, this stove offers a maximum heat output of 9.5kW, more than enough to heat even some of the more spacious living spaces.
The Henley again features the same traditional styling with textured areas on the stove and the traditional column-esque detailing supporting the top of the stove.

All of the above Apex stoves are now available from Fireplace Supermarket and come complete with removable ashpan, log grate and heat resistant glove.

Apex Louisiana Multi-Fuel Stove

Apex Louisiana Multi-Fuel Stove is classically designed to compliment traditional decor and is constructed from cast iron and burns and array of fuels.
The Louisiana comes in a choice of three sizes with differing heat outputs. The Apex Louisiana 3 is the most petit of the new range and suitable for the smaller room, able to burn a range of fuels and emits a maximum heat output of 3kw with 81% efficiency when burning wood. The next stove available is the Apex Louisiana 5, this is the medium sized stove in the room, and is designed for to suit most homes. The Louisiana 5 is large in dimensions to the 3 model and emits a higher output of 5kW. The efficiency of the Louisiana 5 is 76.6% and this stove has been Defra approved, meaning it is suitable to be used in a smoke controlled area when burning wood. The largest of the range is the Apex Louisiana 7. This large stove has a maximum heat output of 7kW, surely enough output for the grandest of rooms. The efficiency is 76.3% and the 7 model is Defra approved also.
All three of the Louisiana range by Apex sport impressively large viewing windows and stylish door designs.
Easy to use Primary and Secondary airflow controls mean easy control of the flame and fire. The glass in the large viewing window is kept cleaner with the aid of the preheated air wash that helps keep soot from forming on the glass.
Apex Louisiana stoves come with top exit and rear exit flues, designed to aid installation, and the Louisiana stoves come with ash pan and complimentary safety gloves as Apex know that these stoves give generous heat, even after the flames of the fire have been extinguished.