Gas, firewood, solid fuel

[CJM]

I just want to know what people find best value for money to heat your house?

 

I've had a multi fuel stove installed at the beginning of November. I was paying around £60-£90 per month on gas to heat the house (depends on how cold it was) since I've installed the stove my gas usage has went down to £6-10 per month (heating water) I get my wood for free but if you had to pay for wood gas oil or solid fuel what would you choose?

I'd go for solid fuel I can make a 25kg bag of ovoids last a week and a £7 a bag that's £364 a year. I could probably get that cheaper if I bought in bulk and through the summer I probably wouldn't burn at all. I don't have the facilities to use oil so I can't comment but if I was to put it in scale of price it would go;

 

Wood

Gas

Solid fuel

 

Just wanted to see different views on fuels that heat the house

[Darrin Turnbull]

Our gas bill for the year was 600 euros about 460 pounds. 110 square meters (heating and warm water).

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Wood has to be cheapest if you're getting it for free, no?

 

I guess it depends how you view the time / effort of cutting, stacking, seasoning, carrying into the house, lighting the fire, clearing the ash and through life stove costs in financial terms - it's a different game to letting the thermostat do the work!!

 

We're on biomass pellets - last 3 years, 1 pallet delivered at about £230ish per year (just gone up.)

 

As a legacy installation, first RHI payment is due this Feb and initial calc's indicate +/- 3.85k per year so all install costs recovered in 3 years then gravy!

[CJM]

Sorry I meant to say if you had to pay for all these fuels

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

 

My fault, you did say in your first post "if you had to buy it", I missed that

[Woodworks]

Gas 4.46 pence per kWh (quick google of prices for our area)

Oil 5 pence per kWh with oil @ 50 pence per litre

Wood 7.1 pence per kWh based on our prices of £100 per cube which is around 350kg

 

Thats with all at 100% efficiency. Think oil and gas boiler are around 95% efficient and good stove 90%

 

So based on the above mains gas is cheapest just.

 

I know I am financially better off to sell all our logs and use our electrically powered ground source heat pump.

 

Should add the fire is roaring as I type

Edited January 18, 2015 by Woodworks

[CJM]

Gas 4.46 pence per kWh (quick google of prices for our area)

Oil 5 pence per kWh with oil @ 50 pence per litre

Wood 7.1 pence per kWh based on our prices of £100 per cube which is around 350kg

 

Thats with all at 100% efficiency. Think oil and gas boiler are around 95% efficient and good stove 90%

 

So based on the above mains gas is cheapest just.

 

I know I am financially better off to sell all our logs and use our electrically powered ground source heat pump.

 

Should add the fire is roaring as I type

 

Mains gas is cheap but it kind of isnt on the other hand I've got a new combi boiler so it's pretty efficient but the fact it runs off a thermostat and you've got a wife that constantly adjusts the thermostat it's not as cheap as soild fuel

[openspaceman]

Gas 4.46 pence per kWh (quick google of prices for our area)

 

 

Thats with all at 100% efficiency. Think oil and gas boiler are around 95% efficient and good stove 90%

 

As a business we pay £0.28 plus climate change levy plus VAT on gas so about a penny less than you.

 

I'd love to know how you get 90% out of a woodburner, I think RHI expects 75% and a recent survey reported the average for those over 45kW of 66%.

 

If you quickly do the sums on excess air and flue temperature compared with a condensing gas boiler you see why.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Gas 4.46 pence per kWh (quick google of prices for our area)

Oil 5 pence per kWh with oil @ 50 pence per litre

Wood 7.1 pence per kWh based on our prices of £100 per cube which is around 350kg

 

Thats with all at 100% efficiency. Think oil and gas boiler are around 95% efficient and good stove 90%

 

So based on the above mains gas is cheapest just.

 

I know I am financially better off to sell all our logs and use our electrically powered ground source heat pump.

 

Should add the fire is roaring as I type

 

Sell it rather than use it is undoubtedly the better option financially, but I don't! 3 log burners ticking over in our house, 1 more to go in when that room gets 'done.'

 

[Woodworks]

As a business we pay £0.28 plus climate change levy plus VAT on gas so about a penny less than you.

 

I'd love to know how you get 90% out of a woodburner, I think RHI expects 75% and a recent survey reported the average for those over 45kW of 66%.

 

If you quickly do the sums on excess air and flue temperature compared with a condensing gas boiler you see why.

 

The gas price is a joke realy. I went onto a supplier's site and it asked for our postcode and up pops the price. There is no mains gas in this postcode

 

Totally agree that 90% is highly unlikely for a WBS but doesn't stop manufacturers claiming these sorts of figures. I exaggerated with 90% Wood burning stoves, multi fuel stoves, stoves