People have gained great pleasure from fires for thousands of years, but recently have stopped using open fires because they are incredibly inefficient. Open fires have an energy efficiency rating of less than 25%. A gas fire is around 55% efficient and gas central heating boilers range between 70% to 90% efficiency. A modern Ecodesign wood burning stove can be over 80% efficient and wood is a significantly cheaper source of energy than gas or electricity.

People choose wood burning stoves (also known as Log burners or wood burners) because they intend to only burn wood as it is very cost-effective and a fully renewable heat source. A wood burning stove can be slightly more efficient way of burning wood than burning wood on a multi fuel stove. Some of the most beautiful designer stoves are only available as wood burning stoves because they were designed in countries which traditionally only burn wood and most high output stoves (over 8 kw) are wood burning only.

People choose multi fuel burning stoves because they offer more versatility, being able to burn wood, anthracite coals and recycled pellets & briquettes. Despite being more expensive anthracite coal and some recycled fuels take up less space, can produce more heat than wood and burn for longer (up to eight hours) reducing the need to refuel the stove.

Online stove retailers heat calculators are not very helpful because they only tell part of the story and can lead you to believe that you need a larger stove than you actually do or bigger is better, possibly because larger stoves are often more expensive. Online calculators fail to take into consideration very important factors such as the thermal efficiency & insulation values of your walls, ceilings, windows, doors and furnishings or your personal preferences.

However, a general guide would be:

4 kw stoves are typically suitable for smaller rooms, kitchens, conservatories, home offices and static homes.

5 kw stoves are the most popular and typically suitable for the average lounge or lager rooms in a newer properties.

7- 8 kw stoves are typically suitable for larger rooms in older properties and very large rooms or open plan arrangements in newer properties.

10 kw and above stoves are typically only suitable for very large rooms in older properties or large open plan arrangements.

When selecting your stove it should also be remembered that for example a 5 kw rating of a stove is only a "nominal" rating which is placed on the stove by the manufacturer. The air flow controls on every modern stove, the amount of fuel you place in the stove and the type of fuel you choose to burn can all be used to customise the amount of heat your stove produces.

Many 5 kw stoves can happily be used to produce only 3 - 4 kw of heat on a regular basis without losing efficiency, simply by adjusting their air flow controls, reducing the amount of fuel being burned or using a cooler burning wood. Equally, some 5kw stoves can happily be used to produce 6 - 7 kw of heat on a regular basis without losing efficiency, simply by adjusting their air flow controls, increasing the amount of fuel being burned or using a warmer burning wood. If you are unsure about what size of stove would best suite your home, please allow us to guide you.

Gas and electric prices continue to be volatile. If you choose the right stove, have it expertly installed so that it operates at optimum performance and source your fuel prudently you could save you up to 30% of your heating costs.

We have built our reputation over the last 16 years on the belief that if we offer an excellent service at a fair price we will be successful.

We own our 7,000 square foot warehouse site and showrooms, so we do not need to pay expensive rent. Over 80% of our new customers come to us because a previous customer has recommended us, so we spend very little on advertising. Our large warehouse capacity enables us to buy bulk from stove manufacturers and installation accessory makers at substantially discounted prices. We share the benefits of our low overheads and low costs with our customers and we have become one of England's largest supplier & installer of solid fuel burning stoves.

While the initial setup cost of installing a wood burning stove should be considered, it can be viewed as a long term investment for your home. Various home improvement articles suggest that incorporating a wood burning stove could potentially increase your home's value by up to 5%. The average house price in South East England is around £460,822, investing in a good quality wood burner could translate to an approximate increase in property value of £23,000.

Escalating concerns about soaring energy expenses and environmental considerations, means prospective homebuyers are placing significant emphasis on the energy efficiency of homes. The energy efficiency and potential cost savings associated with a wood burner can be particularly attractive to potential buyers.

If you buy a stove Online and then pay someone else install it, if it doesn’t work correctly (when installed or several months later), the Online stove retailer is likely to blame the installer and the installer is likely the Online retailer. This can be a nightmare situation making it impossible to get a refund from the stove retailer or the installer. The only way to resolve this common problem could be to pay a reputable stove company to remove the existing stove and then supply & install a replacement stove.

Buying a stove Online may initially appear a cheaper option but this is seldom the case, you will also need to spend around £400 buying the installation accessories required to fit the stove and around £1,000 for a HETAS or OFTEC registered installer to install the stove. Because Online stove retailers only focus on selling stoves as quickly as possible and have not seen your property, in order to make the online option appear less expensive they can forget to explain that your installer is very likely to need far more than just one of their "installation kits" (which normally only include a generic stove pipe, register plate, flue liner and rain cowl) to install your stove in compliance with Building Regulations and HETAS & OFTEC rules or to drastically under estimate the cost of HETAS or OFTEC registered installer.

Buying a reasonable quality stove online will cost around £400, buying all of the stove installation accessories normally required will cost around £400 and most HETAS or OFTEC registered installers will charge over £1,000 (£400 + £400 + £1,000) = £1,800.00

However, we can supply a choice of high quality stoves (RRP £799), all of the stove installation accessories normally required and one of our teams of HETAS and OFTEC registered installers' will expertly install the stove for only £999 + vat = £1,198.80

Safety regulations surrounding the installation of solid fuel burning stoves are very strict because the consequences of making a mistake can be dangerous to you & your neighbours and incur a fine of up to £5,000.

If your stove is not installed by a HETAS or OFTEC registered installer you will need to pay up to £450 to apply to your local council for Building Regulations approval before installing the stove, then ensure the stove is installed in full compliance with an 89 page document known as Section J of the Building Regulations and then ask the council to inspect and hopefully approve the installation before the stove is used.

HETAS and OFTEC registered installers are responsible for ensuring all aspects of a stove installation are in full compliance with Section J of the Building Regulations and HETAS & OFTEC rules, which includes the parts of a stove installation that are not visible after installation has been completed. Therefore, it is extremely unlikely you will be able to find a HETAS or OFTEC registered installer who is prepared to risk their livelihood and potentially committing criminal offence by "certifying" someone else's stove installation.

Failing to use a HETAS or OFTEC registered installer could invalidate your home insurance and you may experience problems selling your property in the future.

GATFire’s very experienced teams of installation engineers are fully HETAS and OFTEC registered. Our work is guaranteed for 6 years and covered by our 5 million pounds insurance policy.

Ecodesign stoves are compliant with a defined standard of efficiency and emissions. The Ecodesign standard was originally formulated by the European Union, following Brexit the UK Government adopted the same standard as part of its 2019 Clean Air Strategy. All new stoves sold and installed in the UK must now be Ecodesign compliant.

Ecodesign Plus is a description used by some manufacturers to indicate a stove exceeds the Ecodesign compliant standard.

All of the stoves GATFire supplies and installs are Ecodesign or Ecodesign Plus stoves.

DEFRA is the Government Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. DEFRA Approved stoves are also known as DEFRA Exempt stoves and DEFRA Approved for smoke control areas stoves. DEFRA approved stoves are more efficient and produce less emissions than the Ecodesign compliant standard. Therefore, all DEFRA Approved stoves will also be Ecodesign compliant.

Some cities and towns are smoke control areas. A DEFRA Approved stove will allow you to burn wood, anthracite coal and other recycled fuels in a smoke control area.

All of the stoves GATFire supplies are DEFRA Approved stoves.

clearSkies Mark Ltd is a commercial stove certification company which has tried to combine the Ecodesign standard and the DEFRA approved standard by charging stove manufactures to evaluate their stoves.

clearSkies level 2 stoves are Ecodesign compliant.

clearSkies level 3 stoves are Ecodesign compliant and are DEFRA approved.

clearSkies level 4 stoves exceed the Ecodesign compliant standard by 15% and are DEFRA approved.

clearSkies level 5 stoves exceed the Ecodesign compliant standard by over 25% and are DEFRA approved.

However, a majority of stove manufactures have chosen not to pay clearSkies to evaluate their stoves, this may lead to the demise of the clearSkies in the future.

If you live in a smoke control area you can use a wood burning stove or multi fuel stove completely legally if you choose a DEFRA approved stove and burn seasoned wood or other smokeless fuels. DEFRA define seasoned wood as having a moisture content of no more than 20%. Seasoned wood is commonly labelled ready to burn, woodsure approved or kiln dried and is readily available from home delivery firewood suppliers, home improvement stores, petrol stations etc.

Alternatively, you can obtain freshly cut wood also known as green wood, season it by allowing it to dry until its moisture content is 20%, then burn it in your DEFRA approved stove.

All of the stoves we supply are DEFRA approved for use in smoke control areas.

You do not need to apply for building regulation approval if your stove is installed by a reputable HETAS or OFTEC registered installer.

If you do not have a chimney or do not want your stove located under an existing chimney, a twin wall flue system passing through an external wall or ceiling is the answer.

Scientists believe CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions are responsible for 80% of global warming. Fossil fuels such as gas, oil and coal are burned to produce electricity and power central heating boilers. The burning of fossil fuels produces far more CO2 than burning wood.

Air pollution is made up of gases and particles, the most harmful being CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) gas, NOx (Nitrogen Oxides) gas and PM2.5 (Particle Matter of 0.0025 mm). In terms of climate change and damage to health, scientists consider the key dangers to be CO2 and NOx. Burning fossil fuels contributes the most to the production of CO2 and NOx. Therefore, burning fossil fuels can harm health in a way burning wood cannot match.

The CO2 produced by burning wood is absorbed or converted into oxygen by younger trees as they grow. When fossil fuels are burned, they release CO2 which has been stored for millions of years. Firewood is mostly a by product of trees which have been harvested to supply the building and furniture industries. Sustainable forestry practices and commercial sense ensures new trees are planted to replace harvested trees, but fossil fuel fields cannot be replaced. Therefore, burning fossil fuels is not carbon neutral and harms the environment in a way burning wood does not.

BBC Science Focus recently confirmed “Wood burning stoves offer a low carbon alternative to heating your home using fossil fuels. Trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, which is returned to the atmosphere when their wood is burned. If you source your logs or wood pellets locally, a wood stove is virtually carbon neutral.”

Alarmist media reports predicting the Government were considering banning wood burning stoves were completely contradicted when the Government published its Environmental Improvement Plan 2023. The plan explains how the Government intends to improve the environment and build a greener more prosperous country over the next 20 years.

The Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 consists of 262 pages covering numerous topics including domestic heating. On the subject of wood burning stoves the Government's plan clearly confirms “We are not considering a ban on domestic burning in England. The UK government recognises that some households are reliant on solid fuel burning as a primary source for heating, hot water and cooking, with this in mind government is not seeking to ban burning.”

The Government appears to have categorically confirmed in writing for the next 18 years wood burning stove owners can rest easily, but could wood burning stoves be banned in 18 years time?

Currently around 1.5 Million households in the UK already use wood burning stoves. These 1.5 Million homes are lived in by around 3.5 Million adults (over 18 years of age) who are very unlikely to vote for any Government who wants to stop them being able to heat their homes in the way they choose.

Around 200,000 new households are installing wood burning stoves every year. If this trend continues and the existing households who already have wood burning stoves do not stop using them, in 18 years time around 5.1 Million homes containing around 11.9 Million adult voters will have wood burning stoves. Such massive voting power could make it impossible for any Government to ever consider banning wood burning stoves in the UK.