Cost of installing a wood stove

Many people feel that the comforting heat provided by a wood stove cannot be matched by sterile central heating – a wood stove can turn your living room into a cosy lounge for long winter nights.

Installing a wood stove is eco-friendly

Modern wood stoves are far more convenient than the vintage ovens most people picture when they think of wood stoves; they come in a wide range of designs from modern to traditional to match any home interior. The cost of a wood stove ranges from low-budget options to expensive self-cleaning luxury stoves. Whatever you go for, it is important to choose a stove that is the right size for your home and to have it installed properly, so you can enjoy it for years to come.

How to choose the right wood stove

Choose a wood stove that will supply the right amount of heat to your home, a large oven might overheat smaller rooms, while a small oven might not be powerful enough for a large room. The stove should also fit into the decor of your home as much as possible. Cost efficiency is another important factor to consider when buying a wood stove, as well as the expense for the oven and installation; there are also running costs that include maintenance, cleaning and wood supply. You will also need to check if your plans comply with building regulations regarding the size of the woodstove, ventilation and chimney requirements. Building regulations also require a notice plate in buildings where a woodstove is installed.

Woodstove installation costs

A basic woodstove can come as cheap as £250 - £400 plus additional materials such as stove pipes to connect the oven to the chimney, while more sophisticated multi-fuel wood stoves can cost more than £1500. Wood stove cost also depends on the installation needed, building regulations may require a non-combustible wall behind the stove and a fireproof pad made of stone or glass underneath the stove. The expenses for installing these fire security measures will have to be added onto the total wood stove cost, which will on an average be around £200 for standard installation performed by a licensed stove installer.

Running costs for a woodstove

Modern wood stoves are highly energy efficient and come with combustion technology that helps to prevent the development of smoke and other inconvenient side effects of wood fire. With these benefits, heating with wood stoves costs less than with natural gas or oil: the price for wood is roughly half the price you have to pay for the amount of oil or propane you would need to create the same room temperature. Also you can keep wood stove costs down by ordering large amounts of wood and storing it in a dry place, this will work out cheaper than regularly buying small bags of wood. Another important part of the running costs for a woodstove are the expenses for the chimney sweeper. Smoke will deposit inside the chimney and eventually obstruct air ventilation, thus the chimney has to be cleaned regularly. This will cost around £20- £40 depending on the number of chimneys and stoves you have. Cleaning the woodstove, too, will cost between £80 and £150. How much cleaning is necessary depends on how much you use the stove.