Cosy Home Heating Guide to Fireplaces

When it comes to cosy home heating, could anything be cosier than a real fire? There’s something very comforting about a fireplace, and it provides a focal point for the room as well as a source of heat and light. As humans, we’re drawn to fires and if you have one, on a cold, wintery nights your guests will make a beeline for it, as well as your pets!

Setting and lighting the fire provides a sense of closure to the day, and lighting it during daylight on an unpleasant, blustery day gives a real sense of self indulgence and luxury. If you’re thinking of changing your fireplace, whether you opt for an open fire or a wood burning stove is partly a matter of personal choice, but there are also some technical factors you may need to take into account. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons in the Cosy Home heating guide to fireplaces.

Cosy home heating with a wood burner
Wood burners can be a safer choice if you have children or pets

Cosy home heating option – open fires

A traditional method of heating for centuries, open fires score highly in terms of atmosphere. In fact, did you know that relaxing by a fire can be good for your health?

The heat from an open fire can effectively heat a room, so it’s a good choice for a living room where all the family is gathered. You can choose which type of fuel you use too – wood or coal. If you have access to lots of chopped wood, then this can be a cost-effective option.  You may need a fireguard, as stray sparks could be fire risk if they land on the carpet and it’s essential to have a fireguard if you have small children.

On the downside, an open fire is relatively inefficient compared to wood burners, as a lot of heat goes straight up the open chimney.

If you’re planning on your fire providing a lot of the heat for the room, this may be a problem – but you may also have a radiator and want the fire more for atmosphere. Open fires also tend to be a lot easier to light and keep going – wood burners can need a bit of a knack.

(Let’s also remember that you can’t toast marshmallows or bread on a wood burning stove that easily, either…!)

An open fireplace is always a strong focal point for a room, and helps create an atmosphere of light and movement

Cosy home heating option – wood burners

In terms of a cosy home heating choice, wood burners are a lot more efficient than an open fire as the heat is enclosed. They are also more controllable, and once the doors are shut can be left to burn safely when there’s no-one in the room as there’s no chance of anything falling out onto the carpet.

A wood burner is easier to keep clean, and you won’t have to keep raking them as regularly as you would with an open fire; they also produce less dust and debris in the rest of the room. As wood burners are more efficient, they also tend to burn less fuel and therefore be cheaper to run.

Cosy home heating can be achieved with a log burner
Image: Pixabay

Wood burners protrude much farther into the room than an open fireplace, so if your room is narrow or small you may not have room for one. The efficient nature of a wood burner may also mean that it makes the room too hot, so you might find yourself in the bizarre situation of having the fire lit and all the windows open!

Wood burners do come in a range of different sizes so be careful to choose an appropriate size for the room to ensure you achieve the optimum cosy home heating provision.

The main disadvantage of choosing a wood burner for your cosy home heating is the initial cost of the burner and the fees involved for having it installed. The exact price of wood burner installation will depend on what type of chimney and fireplace you have.

Cosy home heating idea
Image: Pixabay

How much does a wood burner stove cost?

If you’re thinking of having a wood burning stove installed, you’ll need to consider both the cost of the stove and how much it will be to have it installed.

As a rough guide, the average price of a wood burner stove is £900 – £1500. Some budget models are available at lower prices, such as around £450-£500, but you’ll need to consider if they offer the specs and quality you require.

How much does it cost to have a wood burning stove installed?

As well as the cost of buying a wood burning stove, you’ll need to pay additional costs to have it installed. The exact cost of installing a wood burner stove will depend on whether you need to have your chimney lined with a flue, if you have an existing fire that needs to be removed and whether your fireplace needs to be resized. On average you can expect the installation cost to be around £800-£1500.

Fireplace regulations

If you’re replacing an old open fireplace, new regulations dictate that you’ll have to have an air brick fitted if you don’t already have one. Open fires need a lot of ventilation to burn safely, or they may smoke badly or even produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. Fitting an air brick which connects directly with the exterior of the building allows the fire to ‘draw’ properly and ventilate, but also means bashing a hole in your wall! This isn’t a huge job but needs to be taken into account when you’re planning your budget.

Both open fires and wood burning stoves will require the services of a sweep once a year to clean the chimney and the flue respectively to help prevent soot build up and keep everything running safely.

Are there any cheaper alternatives to a wood burning stove?

If you like the idea of a wood burning stove, but are put off by the cost, then are alternatives available that will provide you with the look of a wood burner.

An eco-friendly alternative, that doesn’t require access to a chimney, is a bioethanol fireplace stove. There are many bioethanol stoves that look like wood burners, so provide the cosy aesthetic, but without the high cost.

Or you could look out for an electric or gas fire that’s designed in to look like a stove. There are some realistic options that give you the cosy look of a fire.

All images (c) Pixabay

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