Open Fire What are the options for Energy Efficiency

I

IrishGunner

Registered User
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Hi

Moving into a house and we want it to be as efficient and environmental friendly as possible. Putting in Netatmo to control heat and also have the walls insulated. Also going to use Hue bulbs

However there is nothing in the open fire. Miss Gunner wants to get a Stove but I am not keen on cleaning it out and also what to burn? I know it gives a lot of heat but wondering down the line Government will ban the burning of wood. In the existing house that we have is open gas fire and rarely on. However we are moving into an older house so want to get as much heat as possible esp in winter

Going to look at stoves over the coming weeks and speak to people but just want users thoughts on it.

Cheers
 
If you aren't going to use the open fire, then you could get a chimney balloon to block out drafts.

Otherwise, put in a stove, but get a multi-fuel stove and burn the smokeless coal and/or wood. There isn't much to cleaning to the stove to be honest, but it is another job that needs to be done.
 
And if you are getting a stove, ideally get one that sits proud of the fireplace, with a flue that goes back to the blanked off fireplace opening. These stoves are more efficient than one that sits in the fireplace opening.
And keep an eye out for aldi for the little stove-top fans that activate when it is hot, and blow the warm air out into the room.




And finally, be careful of the size/heat output of the stove. I know a few friends that can hardly light the stove as it gives out so much heat.
 
IrishGunner said:
Hi

Moving into a house and we want it to be as efficient and environmental friendly as possible.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Get rid of the fire and seal the chimney up at the fireplace. Get a cowl to put on top of the chimney to prevent water ingress and allow ventilation.

An open fire is a complete waste of effort and energy in terms of actually heating the house (aesthetics aside)
 
If you burn fossil fuels in a stove or open fireplace my suggestion would be to install a back-boiler linked to water and central heating systems.
 
There's very little cleaning of a proper stove, they're so efficient there isn't much ash to get rid of. We have a Stovax which is great, the wide screen gives the sense of an open fire without the inefficiency.
 
I put in an electric fireplace. Remote turns it on. Looks like a gas fire. Happy out.
 
Over time, dont the windows of those stoves go all black and you cant see the flames? Thats what I have heard from other people.
But maybe they dont clean them enough?
 
It's also possible to get a gas-fired stove, giving you the energy efficiency of a stove in the fire-place but without the hassle of cleaning it out. However it won't make sense to put one of these in unless the central heating or cooker in the house is being run on gas, otherwise you end up with standing charges and bills for both gas and electricity.
You certainly need to do something with an open fireplace if you want the house to be energy efficient - as long as it's there it's probably worse than leaving a window permanently open and trying to heat the house.
 
NewEdition said:
Over time, dont the windows of those stoves go all black and you cant see the flames? Thats what I have heard from other people.
But maybe they dont clean them enough?
Click to expand...

This tends to happen if the stove is over sized for the room/house and not enough air is allowed into the stove for it to burn efficiently. It can also happen from burning unseasoned timber or wet coal.

I only burn timber in our stove as we found that coal tends to corrode the grate over time. It's a much better fuel in terms of being a renewable energy source that sequesters carbon during it's growing life.

Generally speaking, once the stove is burning the timber efficiently, there is very little ash left compared with the amount of materiel used. It's a 5 minute job to clean the stove and set it up for the next burn.

An open fire is nice but it hard to watch it knowing that a lot of the heat is going right up the chimney.
 
nad said:
Any chance of a picture or make and model details of this?
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Endeavour Fires Roxby Inset Electric Fire, Black Trim and Fret, 220/240Vac 1&2kW, 7 day Programmable Remote control https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OTYEZKY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_24c3DbJ13787S
 
NewEdition said:
Over time, dont the windows of those stoves go all black and you cant see the flames? Thats what I have heard from other people.
But maybe they dont clean them enough?
Click to expand...
No, not in our case, we (I mean, my wife mostly) clean the screen/window once a week and it's fine. It's not a tough job, we got a special spray and use some newspaper and it comes off very easily.
 
NewEdition said:
Over time, dont the windows of those stoves go all black and you cant see the flames? Thats what I have heard from other people.
But maybe they dont clean them enough?
Click to expand...

As above, clean the glass every week and it will stay perfect. Newspaper works, or heavy duty kitchen roll, but dip the roll into some ash on the grate, cleans without needed any type of spray!
 
Ok are there any brands of stove that should be avoided or are they all the same. Going for the Matt option rather than enamel
 
NewEdition said:
Over time, dont the windows of those stoves go all black and you cant see the flames? Thats what I have heard from other people.
But maybe they dont clean them enough?
Click to expand...

Cut open a potato, wipe the screen with the exposed part, everything comes off, its like magic.
 
We have a multi fuel stove but I would love to remove it as aside from the maintenance and coal costs, it also causes a lot of dirt around the gutters at the front of our house. We have an electric fire at the other end of the house and it works well but it will never be as warm as a coal fire.
 
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