With the energy price cap having just been raised for the second time in the last 12 months, the costs of gas and electric heating have climbed to record highs. Because of this, thousands of households all over the UK are considering abandoning gas and electric heating in favour of cheap wood briquette heat.
The energy 54% price hike approved by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets will come into force on April 1, 2022. And a further price increase, which could raise the price cap to £3,000 is rumoured to be coming in October as a result of the situation in Ukraine. Seeing this, many think that the costs of buying a wood stove can be covered in just a single heating season.
Let’s take a look at the maths and see if this line of thinking checks out.
How Much Does a Kilowatt Hour of Wood Briquette Heat Cost?
If you were to buy a full pallet of industry-standard Hardwood Heat Logs, you would pay around ten pence per kilowatt-hour of wood heat.
Based on this figure, you can pay as little as £300 and £400 for an entire winter’s worth of wood heat if you live in a smaller apartment. If you live in a large apartment, you can expect to pay upwards of £600-£1,000. Obviously, you will pay more during a colder winter than a milder one. Installing good heat insulation will also lower your heating costs.
How Much Does a Log Burner Cost?
A decent low-end option for a small apartment is the Saltfire ST1 wood stove. It is Defra-approved, Ecodesign-ready, and can produce between 2 kW and 5 kW of heat. It will set you back just £599.00, which puts it at the very low end of the market. Larger stoves can cost between £1,000 and £1,500.
Other Wood Fuel Costs to Be Aware of?
Having a wood burner professionally installed will cost you around a thousand pounds, but you can save on this if you buy your stove from a seller that offers discounts on installation when purchasing a stove.
Having your chimney swept by a professional will cost you around £80- £100, although even cheaper options are available via local classified ads.
A full winter’s worth of quality fire starters will cost you around £20. And 3 months’ worth of kiln-dried kindling will cost you around £25. While both of these are optional, they will greatly improve your heating experience.
