Add efficient warmth and a characterful focal point to your living space with Jane Crittenden’s guide to retrofitting woodburning stoves, and gas and electric fires

The multi-fuel Go Eco Excel stove runs at 81.9% efficiency and achieves ClearSkies Level 5 certification. It’s also DEFRA approved in smokeless zones and features an extra powerful airwash system. This 5kW model has a modern wide door for maximum flame visibility. Priced at £899, Charlton & Jenrick

Heating season is nearly upon us, so now’s a great time to plan any upgrades you might want to make before the colder weather sets in. With energy costs on the rise, it could be the ideal time to uncover that boarded-up old fireplace or upgrade your existing appliance to a more efficient design.

The crackle of open log fires might seem appealing, but they lose up to 70% of their heat up through the chimney and produce a relatively high level of pollutants (such as particulate matter). A woodburning stove is far kinder to the environment, while sealed gas or electric fires will also maintain a healthier climate indoors than open versions.

Just be sure not to oversize the appliance: it’s better to maximise the burn in a smaller woodburner, for instance, rather than install a stove with a high kilowatt (kW) output that under-fires and therefore doesn’t run efficiently.

Which fuel?

Many woodburning stoves are multi-fuel designs certified to burn coal or wood, but the latter option is the most eco-friendly. Ready to Burn legislation came into force in May 2021 with the intention of further improving air quality.

This means wood sold in volumes of up to 2m3must have a moisture content below 20% so that it produces less smoke. Woodsure is the UK’s wood fuel accreditation scheme, and the Ready to Burn certification mark shows logs have an optimum moisture content.

All fuel prices have gone up significantly in recent times and wood is no exception, but if you’re lucky enough to have a ready supply on your property (from a patch of woodland, perhaps), you’ll be well-insulated against continuing price hikes. Boiler stoves, for instance, can feed into your space heating and deliver domestic hot water – reducing your reliance on other systems. A relatively new approach is to install a central heating stove combined with solar thermal panels. “A large buffer tank is heated by solar energy and/or the wood stove to provide space heating and hot water,” says Niall Deiraniya, UK general manager at Dru Fires.