Fireplace and log-burner rules explained in 2021
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According to the Government’s “reasonable worst-case scenario”, a four-day contingency plan in January will involve a four-day period of power cuts and blackouts amid a potential electricity shortfall as costs soar. The plans would mean that both industries and households would go without power during the period as a result of below-average temperatures and reduced electricity imports from Norway in a bid to conserve gas.
But during this period, households with log burners may still be able to keep warm, while those stuck with gas boilers could freeze.
While a wood-burning stoves are classed as a space heating appliances that can comfortably heat the rooms they are put in.
They also provide radiated heat to other rooms in the home, slashing the need for gas and electric powered heating.
According to Erica Malkin from the Stove Industry Alliance (SIA), wood-burning stoves would “let people heat their homes”.
“A wood-burning stove is completely independent of anything. You would not be without heat if there was to be this situation.”
“I remember reading about people during the storms last year in Northumberland and Scotland who said they do not know how they would have managed without their wood-burning stove because it was their only form of heat in the coldest months of the year.
“It is quite unsettling for consumers. Energy prices are bad enough but to think that the electricity could get switched off as well.”
As well as keeping the house warm when the electricity shuts off, log burners are also about a third of the price of electric heating and around 13 percent less than gas central heating for the average household, according to the SIA.
This could shield consumers from soaring bills as gas prices soar, with some horror predictions warning that the price cap could reach as high as £5,500 by January.
But if you own a log burner, you may not have to fork out as much as other households.
According to analysis from Gemserve Ltd, households with gas central heating and a wood-burning stove can save up to £131 a year by following a specific technique.
The method works by keeping the central heating at 18oC for a 3-hour period during winter evenings (for an average of five days a week) while firing up the log burner at the same time.
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The chair of the SIA, Andy Hill, said: “In the face of spiralling energy bills and growing awareness of the shortfalls of grid dependency during poor winter weather causing long power cuts, a wood-burning stove offers a reliable and affordable way to heat our homes.
“A modern wood burning stove costs about a third of the price of electric heating and approximately 13 percent less than gas central heating for the average household.
“These savings are set to further grow when the next energy price cap increase is introduced this autumn.”
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