The more important question would be, “Why not a wood burner installation?”

Open fires

People tend to be very keen on open fires, but seldom realise quite how wasteful and expensive they can be. An open fire sits there 24/7 blowing warm air up the chimney into the Great Beyond, and that’s when it ISN’T being used.  Once you light it, that stream of warm air becomes a torrent of hot air blasting your hard earned money skywards.  An open fire wastes an incredible amount of heat as they usually make 10 to 15 air changes an hour, which means that on average, every 4 minutes all the warm air in the room goes up the chimney.

Wood burning stoves

A wood burning stove installation will put an end to that quite abruptly. The minute the stove is in place, the 24/7 stream of air ceases, replaced by just a trickle, which is financially a lot less painful.  In addition, even when it is up and running, YOU control the air that is going up the chimney.  No longer does it rage up there untamed and extravagant, but now, tamed and controlled it is subservient.  When you increase the air it does as you tell it, and as soon as you rein it back, it ceases to run, but walks at your command.

A wood burner installation will turn waste wood and branches into heat for you, and best of all, not only will it burn fuel more efficiently, but because it is closing off the chimney even when it is not in use, you will need less heat to keep the house warm, so it saves on two fronts.  This saving also means that you need a smaller woodpile to cover the winter months, which is an enormous help if your garden isn’t big.

Wood burner installations come with a range of stoves, so every taste is catered for, from the simple, functional model, through the more decorative styles to the ultra high tech models that are imported from countries like Germany. Those are at the high end of the financial spectrum, but their efficiency is also higher.