For UK consumers concerned about how to keep their homes warm this winter, a cozy fire could be a handy way to avoid soaring energy bills.
But there’s no escaping it: Smokeless fuel prices are up more than 50 percent this year, driven by increased costs for raw materials, shipping and processing.
The price of imported firewood has doubled since last winter, owing to the impact of the Ukraine war on supplies and soaring international demand. The cost of UK-grown kiln-dried logs, the mainstay of UK wood-burning stoves, has risen by a less alarming 10-15 per cent, but rising drying, transport and labor costs mean further price hikes are inevitable.
But since the gas and electricity prices have doubled in the last year, it is worth lighting the fire for many households.
Who would have thought that chimney sweeps would be in great demand in 2022 or that the smart stove in the corner would have to warm an entire family?
“It’s being driven by the energy crisis, people are looking for alternatives,” says Nic Snell, managing director of Hereford-based Certainly Wood, the UK’s largest supplier of homegrown kiln-dried wood. “We have a lot of people who say they don’t turn on the heat until they really have to. It goes back to the old days, sat in one room instead of the whole house.”
Recommended
Chimney sweeps talk about the business boom on their online forums when people sweep chimneys or open an inactive chimney. “On a Monday in September I received 27 voicemails and 38 email queries,” says chimney sweep Ian Welford from the North East of England. Its earliest available slot is now mid-January; Regular guests are already booking for winter 2023. “Many customers do not switch on their central heating because they are afraid of the costs.”
The Stove Industry Alliance (SIA), whose manufacturing members account for 75 per cent of UK stove sales, recently reported a 40 per cent increase in sales between April and June 2022, from 25,000 to over 35,000 on a year earlier.
So are wood-burning stoves and open fires really cheaper? To reduce costs, consumers should buy fuel in bulk and buy early. An ecodesign wood stove that complies with UK environmental regulations can cost £1,000 to £1,500 plus installation. For safety reasons, chimneys should be swept annually at a cost of £60 each.
According to Snell, 3-4 meters of kiln-dried logs for a wood-burning stove, sufficient for evenings and weekends between October and April, would currently cost £600-650. Turning off the central heating should save you money, although some rooms remain cold. Alternatively, an SIA analysis shows that a wood-burning stove combined with limited central heating can save £132 a year, equivalent to a 6.8 per cent saving on heating, based on this October’s price cap.
But there is another issue: air quality.
Amid concerns about global warming and rising emissions, are wood stoves and open fires making things worse? Much depends on consumers complying with regulations, upgrading stoves and using the latest smokeless fuels.
“If people burn the right fuels in the right appliance, the emissions from those fuels will be very low compared to the alternatives,” says Julian Martin, sales manager for CPL, the UK’s largest supplier of smokeless fuels.
In recent years the government has introduced measures to reduce particulate emissions, including restricting the sale of wet wood and charcoal in England. Only approved fuels may be used in UK smoke restricted areas covering most urban locations. Some local authorities have banned the burning of wood on open fires on pain of a £1,000 fine. Dry wood can be used in approved stoves.
The concern is that some might just focus on saving money, risking the environment and their own safety by burning damp wood, painted and treated wood, furniture and household waste. A return from family fireside evenings might be welcome. But no pea soup mists.
