Why you should have a wood burning stove!

A wood burning stove is the new 'must have' piece of equipment for your home! When you consider the ever-increasing cost of gas and electric, it makes perfect sense to have a wood burning stove fitted.

Back in the 1970's, everybody wanted the avocado bathroom suite and a Magimix food processor. In the early 1980's, it became the Breville sandwich toaster. In the 1990's everyone seemed to crave a Le Creuset casserole dish, taking pride of place in a fitted kitchen with a granite worktop. Then came the retro-American fridge-freezer and the espresso machine that became the most sought after household accessory.

High fashion

Today, however it is the wood-burning stove. These stoves are the household equivalent of a Toyota Prius and are considered to be pretty green and fashionable. The wood available that most people use for these stoves is either from skips or sold at garages in green net bags by the log which cost about 70p. However, a growing number of people are collecting there own wood from fields, parks or simply when they go into the countryside for a walk with the dog. There always seems to be a fair amount of wood laying about in the way of fallen trees that can be harvested for the wood burning stove. Saw mills and wood yards are also a fantastic source of cheap or even free wood.

Making the installation of a wood burning stove even more attractive was when the announcement from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, stated that a wood-burning stove owner who generated his own electricity could earn 6.5p per kilowatt hour. You see, it's not just solar panels that can earn you money.

Eco friendly, wood burning heaters

Recently, sales of eco-friendly heaters have risen by more than 300 per cent. Some of the biggest suppliers, of these wood burners in the country, claim that recent cold snaps have seen another massive increase in sales of wood burning stoves.

A wood burning stove is not an old fashioned piece of furniture from the past, but a must have accessory of modern households. Even the jet set and famous have taken ownership of these wonderful appliances, including Prince Charles, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Lily Allen, Alex James, Anne Robinson, Daniel Day-Lewis and many more celebrities.

The reason wood burning stoves are so popular are twofold. Oil and gas have become ludicrously expensive, and wood is a carbon-neutral fuel. The stoves give out five times as much heat as a regular fireplace and heat a much bigger part of the house.

The cost and installation of a good quality stove is not as much as you might think. Stove enthusiasts know that that money is very quickly recovered by cheaper fuel bills. Essentially, you get what you pay for and you could expect to recoup the cost of installation in around five years. This has got to be worth it when you consider the cost of gas and oil is increasing at an alarming rate.

Following the Scandinavian way

Cast-iron wood-burning stoves have been popular on the Continent since the 18th century, although there were ceramic stoves as early as the 16th century. But it was in Scandinavia where, thanks to the abundance of forests, the log-burning stoves were the natural choice for cooking and heating. Today it is still the Nordic inspired and manufactured stoves that are the most fashionable and sought after.

A good stove has an airtight box without any leaks, it successfully gets rid of the gases, but does not let the heat go up the chimney. Nowadays there are some really good British manufacturers, and a top-of-the-range model will last you a lifetime.

And surprisingly, many of those buyers are from metropolitan areas. Ansell Chimneys are fitting stoves in London that are so efficient, they can even burn wood in a smokeless zone.

Ansell Chimneys are certain that the wood burning stove is the next 'big thing' and to buy one will be the best decision homeowners are likely to make.

Why not call Ansell Chimneys now for a free quote

If you would like to know more or are interested in a quote we would be happy to help. Phone us on 01923 661 614, email us at info@ansellchimneys.co.uk or fill in our enquiry form and we will be in touch as soon as possible.