Have you made any financial savings since installing your stove?

[ostosix]

I use a stove for our only heating(back boiler hunter herald 14kw) its great in the winter, all my wood is arb waste dried myself. So cost is only my own time and moving it about etc. One brilliant upgrade you can make is solar panels. These run my immersion through the summer and pretty much may to september hot water is plentiful. We only have a lecky shower from a none renewable point of view.

 

It uses a Solar Iboost control unit so immersion only comes on when its sunny. You can also switch on manual boost mode with timer etc but i find there is no real need. Solar cost 5,300 for 2.6kw system including i boost. You dont need 4kw like they'll try and sell you. and it more than pays for itself through the grant. With the saving and free hotwater its a return on investment far greater than what you'd recieve from the bank.

 

So far in 7 years ive only ever bought one pallet of hotties briquettes. I trie dcoal but its nowhere near as good than a decent flame.

Edited July 5, 2018 by ostosix

[daveindales]

iv'e got solar iboost. Great idea. Bought mine separate from panals and local electrician  fitted it.

[spudulike]

It is pretty simple, if you fit a reasonable stove and pay for commercially dried and split wood, you are unlikely to save money. If you get a stove fitted and you are prepared to find, cut and stack free firewood or have a way to get firewood/timber for no payment or beer money cost and process it yourself then fill your boots.

I have dragged the ditches after storms and more latterly relied on contacts in my business to drop excess wood off and have done repairs for firewood before, it all works and makes for cost saving, I am not sure I would bother if I didn't have access to a decent supply of timber.

Oh - don't turn your nose up to any timber, it all burns and gives off heat!

[scbk]

1 hour ago, ostosix said:

I use a stove for our only heating(back boiler hunter herald 14kw) its great in the winter, all my wood is arb waste dried myself. So cost is only my own time and moving it about etc. One brilliant upgrade you can make is solar panels. These run my immersion through the summer and pretty much may to september hot water is plentiful. We only have a lecky shower from a none renewable point of view.

 

It uses a Solar Iboost control unit so immersion only comes on when its sunny. You can also switch on manual boost mode with timer etc but i find there is no real need. Solar cost 5,300 for 2.6kw system including i boost. You dont need 4kw like they'll try and sell you. and it more than pays for itself through the grant. With the saving and free hotwater its a return on investment far greater than what you'd recieve from the bank.

 

So far in 7 years ive only ever bought one pallet of hotties briquettes. I trie dcoal but its nowhere near as good than a decent flame.

It might vary in different parts of the UK, but the advice I got from Home Energy Scotland (Energy Saving Trust), solar isn't worth it at the current rates unless you're home all day long to use the free electricity

[benedmonds]

I have a basically unlimited supply of firewood as we have tons of the stuff, but I still can't see me making financial savings after the £4 or £5k  it cost to fit and install.. 

 

If you consider that I could be selling the logs at £80 a bag rather then burning them.. It makes even less financial sense..  Even though I don't spend the cash it is still costing me £300 or £400 a year to in logs......

 

I still wouldn't be without it.. 

[Squaredy]

1 hour ago, spudulike said:

It is pretty simple, if you fit a reasonable stove and pay for commercially dried and split wood, you are unlikely to save money.

I have to agree with this.  I save money because I don't work out the value of the firewood I burn which is all sawmill "waste".  

 

I enjoy my woodburner partly because I love a real fire but also because we use it as much as we like without worrying about wood consumption, whereas if we put gas central heating on we would probably only let it come on for a couple of hours each evening.  And my house gets really cold in winter so it would be miserable.

 

As a small scale firewood seller I would say the majority of my customers just love their woodburners - very few of them are expecting it to save them money.  It is a luxury item like their fancy car.

 

 

[Ratman]

Yeah i’ve dropped my gas / electric bills by quite a bit by using the stove yeah. Especially as all my woods been free up to now, (soft wood from work, pallets etc and a large beech tree i mullered with a mate of mine and my latest stihl purchase [emoji51]) got a large Ash to drop in next couple of months too, so my supply will be good for quite a while yet [emoji106]
We live by candle light in our house practically anyhow, we’re very antisocial ya know ?
I’d say an average gas / electric bill of nearly £1100 a year for us is down to nearer £800 a year now for the two of us. (Guessing at that tho cos her indoors sorts all the monies out, i just work and hand over the readies.... [emoji848][emoji849][emoji30][emoji386][emoji24] wouldnt be without my burner now tho... love it!

[daveatdave]

I have a wood burner in the room in winter the gas central heating goes on about half a hour before we get ready for bed, I used to get about enough wood to run for winter but now have retired I only get bits and bobs not enough for the hole winter even started to use next winters stock this winter. If I have to buy logs in it will be cheaper to use the gas  as for solar panels the domestic side  grants has stopped and after 15 years they are only producing at 50%  so by 20 years need replacing so have only paid four them selves   

[ostosix]

3 hours ago, scbk said:

It might vary in different parts of the UK, but the advice I got from Home Energy Scotland (Energy Saving Trust), solar isn't worth it at the current rates unless you're home all day long to use the free electricity

The tariff i got 14.9p per kw and savings which are moderate, bill less than £40p/m,  pays for my solar in roughly ten years with the next 10yrs grant being profit. You get payed for the lecky weather you use it or not hence the IBOOST. So that advive doesn't figure. If you have a south east to south west facing roof you cannot loose. My installer a great chap who was really into it persuaded me to go for just 2.6kw system as my panels are off south. (2kw if your south facing)He said you'll never use the lecky from 4kw system unless you'd charge an electric car.

 

Remember companies would fit solar to your roof for free so it must have been a good deal!

3 hours ago, benedmonds said:

I have a basically unlimited supply of firewood as we have tons of the stuff, but I still can't see me making financial savings after the £4 or £5k  it cost to fit and install.. 

 

If you consider that I could be selling the logs at £80 a bag rather then burning them.. It makes even less financial sense..  Even though I don't spend the cash it is still costing me £300 or £400 a year to in logs......

 

I still wouldn't be without it.. 

Thats like saying why have a car because you could sell it and have the money. Every one bangs on about wood being too cheap on ere! Sell the logs and give it to the gas company---- no way;-)

Edited July 5, 2018 by ostosix

[Stumpy Grinder]

There’s a lot more to it than pure economics. The smell is very homely and I tend to sit in front of it for hours if I can get in front of the cats and dogs! Then there’s the reliability. If we lose electricity then my combi boiler is also out! I can heat my house and even boil a kettle or cook on top of my wood burner. It has a wide window and I can just sit and watch the flames which to me are more interesting than most of the shite on TV. Not sure how long it will take to recover cost of installation, but I wouldn’t be without it ! ???