Rising energy prices have made more people think about ways to save on energy bills, such as wondering when is a good time to put their central heating on.
High costs are making some households consider if it’s cheaper to use portable radiators or opt for a traditional wood-burning stove.
Wood burners are quite popular in the UK; around 1.9 million households in the UK use wood fuel in their homes, according to the Census 2021. But just how efficient and cost-friendly is it?
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We’ve already compared fan heater vs oil heater, so we now look at wood-burning stove vs central heating to find out what’s cheaper for your home.
How much does it cost to run a wood-burning stove?
Andy Hill, chair of the Stove Industry Association (SIA) told MoneyWeek: “The costs will vary depending on a number of factors including the type of appliance you use, how often you use it, the type of wood fuel you use and where you buy your fuel.
“Broadly speaking, wood stove users will use 3.5m3 of wood logs during a heating season (mid-Oct to mid-April, evenings and weekends) and the average cost of kiln-dried wood logs per cubic meter currently in the UK is between £160 to £200 depending on supplier.”
This could mean wood stove users spend between £560 and £700 on the fuel during the colder months.
A benefit of wood burners, according to Hill, is that wood is a “bought and paid for fuel” without direct debit, standing order or pre-payment meter, and provides a reliable off-grid source of heating.
However, it doesn’t come cheap. The initial expense of a wood burner can range from £500 to more than £4,000 for fancier designs, according to Direct Stoves. Installation costs about £1,300 to £1,500 on average – and it can be even more expensive if you need to add a fireplace or a flue.
Other costs include chimney-sweeping (between £50 and £80 in most parts of the UK) and creating a space to store wood carefully so that the logs get plenty of air. That means raising them off the ground on a pallet or keeping them in a rack or wood store outside, with a roof to keep them dry.
A wood-burning stove won’t heat your property in the same way as central heating. It will heat up the room where the wood burner is located, and the residual heat may spread to other rooms, but it won’t consistently heat every room in the home like radiators would.
Some modern homes also aren’t designed to accommodate a wood-burning stove, even if you can afford to install one.
Consider the health impact of wood burners too. New research from the University of Birmingham found that 20% of total fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass came from domestic fires.
A DEFRA report found that domestic wood burning was one of the UK’s biggest sources of particulate matter pollution in the UK, even more than that of road traffic. PM2.5 emissions from domestic wood burning went up by 124% between 2011-2021, according to the research.
However, the SIA criticised the study, highlighting that the figures in the report accounted for all domestic combustion appliances, which also include open fires, hence not accurately reflecting pollution levels caused by wood-burning alone.
How much does it cost to run central heating?
Expert Jo Alsop from The Heating Hub, explains how to work out how much central heating costs to turn on.
Actual costs will vary depending on many factors, including how cold it is and the type of boiler you have. But as a rough guide, based on the January price cap gas rate of 6.24p per kilowatt hour (kWh), it costs an average of about 29p per hour to run your central heating.
According to the Heating Hub, the average UK household uses 9,000kWh of gas for heating across six months, amounting to 49kWh per day on average, which might rise to 70kWh for heating on colder days.
So it would be a total cost of £86 per month based on the price cap, or £2.90 a day.
This is if you use the heating for 10 hours every day, say between 5am to 9am and 4pm to 10pm.
The biggest advantage of central heating is that it will heat your entire home evenly and let you make full use of every room. This all-round warmth provides immense comfort and is not possible from other forms of heating.
Other benefits include the convenience factor: you can normally “set and forget” an automated heating system or enjoy flexibility with app-based control systems. You can also install new components and heat sources like underfloor pipes as required.
The drawbacks of central heating are, of course, the higher running cost and the fact you’ll be without heating if you experience any blackouts this winter. Radiators also don’t tend to be as visually pleasing as wood-burning stoves, which can provide a cosy-looking focal point and enhance a property’s interior design.
Wood-burning stove vs central heating – which is cheaper?
Exactly what’s cheaper for you will depend on how much heat you need, the size of your home and how many people live in your household.
Let’s consider wood-burning stoves:
Kiln-dried wood logs currently cost 10.73p per kWh, which is much cheaper than electricity at 24.86p per kWh, but more expensive than gas which is 6.34p per kWh according to the Ofgem energy price cap. This is only if you already have a wood-burning stove installed.
Buying and installing a wood-burning stove represents a significant cost. If a log burner is suitable for your home, the upfront investment will take several years to pay off even if energy prices stay at record highs.
The main way homeowners may save with a wood-burning stove compared to central heating is if you want to warm up just one part of your house, if you live in a smaller home, or if you’re able to get cheap or free wood. The SIA suggests that using wood burners can cut your central heating costs and ultimately reduce your total heating bill.
It’s worth noting that wood burning won’t heat your property as efficiently as central heating and has high installation costs. So while wood burning offers good aesthetics to your home, it may not be worth it in the long run.
As such, the case for central heating is much clearer. It is not only cheap and safe but also circulates heat better in your house rather than being confined to one room.
We think central heating is the overall winner here.
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