Information on Wood Burning Stoves in your home & office
As the nights get darker and the days get seriously cold we all want the same thing during winter: a warm home. But, as always, there’s debate around the best way to actually heat your home. Here in the office we use a Morsø wood-burning stove to keep things toasty (more on that later…) but you’re probably wondering what’s the best option for you.
morso 7943 wood burning stove
The Financial Focus
As an architect studio we’re constantly exposed to new ideas, designs and concepts but clients are also always focused on heating their new homes as economically as possible. So if you’re considering installing a wood-burning stove you might want to consider the points below before making the purchase.
Costs
Even though 60% of those surveyed by Which said they saved money switching to a wood-burning stove, the initial outlay can prove too much for some. Depending on make, model and location within your house, a new stove can cost anywhere from £750 t0 £2000. As a homeowner you’ll need to weigh up initial costs to long term savings.
Wood-Burning or Multi Fuel
A wood-burning stove can seem like the perfect answer to your home heating problems until you think about where you’re going to get such big amounts of wood. Not only do you need a regular supply, you’ll also need space to dry out any damp wood.
If these seem like potential issues then a multi-fuel stove might be your best bet as coal is more readily available. However, this will obviously add to fuel costs going forward.
Size
Stoves are generally purchased to heat one key room in a house as a compliment to a normal central heating system. If, however, you want to treat your new stove as the primary heating source then buying one with a back boiler will be the best option but this will again lead to less efficiency and higher costs.
Also, to effectively choose the right sized boiler you should divide the cubic meter total of the room (length x width x height) by 14 to ensure the correct heat output (kW) is matched to your room. For example, a room measuring 72m3 in total, divided by 14, would result in the use of a stove with an output of 5kW.
Eco-Friendly
Modern wood-burning stoves are systematically designed to decrease overall CO2 emissions during the burning-off process of wood, however you need to be aware of Smoke Control Areas and regulations around your home.
Here in Northern Ireland things can vary from council to council. Fermanagh and Omagh and the Mid Ulster district councils have no regulations whereas Causeway Coast and Glens have some and Mid and East Antrim have more again. The best bet is to check online, or contact your local council office directly.
Our Recommendation
Morso 6143 Woodburning Stove
If you’ve ever visited our office at Raceview Mill, just outside Ballymena, you’ll know that it’s a big beautiful space upstairs in a converted linen mill but all that space needs to be heated. To do this we installed a brilliant Morsø wood-burning stove that keeps everyone warm and happy all day, alongside all of the coffee…
Our particular model is Morso 6143 and we’d highly recommend it to anyone, bearing in mind the points above.