Why now is the right time to buy a wood-burner (to complement your gas heating)

Why our customers love their wood-burners

One of the top reasons our customers choose wood burners is because of their unique relaxing quality. Their requirement that the flames be tended to — ensuring there's just the right amount of wood, and adding a little more when needed to keep the flames burning bright — is all part of the meditative process enjoyed by many.

The burning of wood is also unique in its sound and fragrance; producing atmospheric pops and cracks as the wood changes shape, and releasing a calming, familiar fragrance — perhaps the years our ancestors spent around campfires makes this feel so natural.

Another great benefit of woodburners is their large heat output, often generating more warmth than their electric or gas counterparts. This is especially beneficial for use in big rooms, where they do a better job a tackling an unwelcome draught. (For guidance on understanding the amount of heat your room will require, and which fires will be best for the job, read our blog about different fuel types here).

Their large heat output however has led many to errounously believe that wood-burners are worse for the environment than, for example, burning gas. This isn't the case however, as many modern wood-burners provide a brilliant way to complement your central heating — as explained below. 

How wood-burners complement your gas central heating

With gas bills on the rise, and gas due to be phased out by 2050, it's clear why many people are looking to wood-burners as a cosy alternative to standard central heating — but what about the environmental impact?

With greater awareness of the impact burning fuels can have on the environment, makers of wood burning fires have continually imporved the technology in their products to lessen their carbon impact.

Some of the ways they have achieved this is through the inclusion of doors on some products to prevent heat loss via open flames, through the inclusion of catalytic converters in some products to reduce emissions, and through the pairing of renewable and sustainable wood fuel (to name a few).

This has led many modern wood-burners to provide a sustainable and low carbon way to heat your home. In fact, all of the fires shown in this blog are rated A or A+ for their energy efficiency, and when it comes to ecodesign stoves, it's worth remembering that they produce 90% less emissions than an open fire, and 80% less emissions than a 10-year old stove.

This means that even if you live in a smoke-controlled zone, like a big city, there are many certified appliances perfectly suitable for your home. (For more information on these figures, please read our separate blog here).

Plus, it's easy to manage your fuel usage of wood-burners; simply add more logs when you need more heat, and then keep the rest in storage for a later day. This makes managing the cost easy too — and don't forget that there's plenty of places to shop around and compare prices when it comes to buying wood fuel.

Considering the above, it's clear why now is the perfect time to buy a modern wood burner to complement your gas central heating.

If you're interested in buying a wood burner, at Grate Expectations we stock many different stylish models, with numerous different functions — check them our here.

Or if you would like to learn a little more about electric and gas fires (also excellent options for many people), we recommend you read two of our separate blogs:

Firstly, this one, which provides guidance on choosing the right fuel type for your home, and secondly this one, which explains why buying gas is still a smart invesment (with due consideration of the 2050 deadline to phase gas out).

If you enjoyed reading the above, we encourage you to visit our blog section for more updates about our latest products, industry news, and more.

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If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.