Stoves are becoming increasingly popular in Gloucester Park Homes which can viewed to see the space inside the home by clicking on links such as www.parkhomelife.com/our-parks/orchard-park be purchased from sites like and have moved on from just being an essential feature of country cottages. Homeowners living in cities are seeing the benefits, both in terms of providing additional warmth and saving money on heating bills. If you’re thinking about installing a stove, should you go for a multi-fuel or log-burning model?
Choosing logs or multi-fuel
There are a range of stoves available, including those that only burn wood and those that are suitable for multiple fuels, typically coal and wood.
One of the key benefits of a stove that burns logs is that wood is often cheaper and also produces significantly lower CO2 levels, making it a more environmentally friendly option. Wood-burning stoves can save you up to 85 per cent on heating bills, according to figures from suppliers. With any type of stove, however, you’ll also need to factor in the cost of installation, fuel and extras, such as outdoor storage, axes and chainsaws.
The cost of fuel
The main factor to consider with stoves is the type and cost of the fuel. An advantage of installing a multi-fuel stove is that you can use both coal and wood, allowing you to choose the one that suits your needs.
Whether you’re using wood in a log burner or multi-fuel stove, you need to ensure you’re using the right type. This will have an effect on the price, and the drier it is, the better it burns. Typically, wood with a moisture content of less than 25 per cent will burn more effectively and use less energy to burn off the water.
You can dry out freshly cut logs yourself by keeping them for a year or more in a dry place, with exposed sides. Ready-seasoned wood is also available, although this will cost more. Kiln-dried wood is even more expensive, but it is ready to be burned.
The least expensive type of coal is house coal, but this also produces higher emissions and more ash and doesn’t provide the same heat output. There are various forms of smokeless coal that are more environmentally friendly and create more efficient heat.