Before purchasing a new fire its important to identify the running costs to ensure you choose the right stove for you and your home.

There are two key factors that we need to look at when identifying the running costs of your fire, the fuel you will use and the fireplace efficiency rating of the appliance.

To work out the cost of running your fire, simply use the following formula:

Energy needed to heat the room (kw) ÷ Efficiency rating = Actual energy (kw) needed to heat the room.

Actual energy needed to heat the room × cost per kw = Cost to heat the room per hour

Heres the formula explained in a little more detail:

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Fuel Types and Costs

To produce a fair estimate we need to compare the fuel types on a ‘par for par’ basis. We are using 1 kw as our benchmark.

• Electric – approx 15p per kw
• Gas – approx 5p per kw
• Wood – dependant on source, approx 10p per kw
• BioEthanol – approx 90p per kw

Fireplace Efficiency Rating

The higher the fireplace rating the higher the efficiency resulting in saving you money. (If the rating is 30% this means that 70% of the heat is lost via a chimney)

• Electric Fireplace – 100%
• Flueless Gas Fire – 99%
• Wood Burning Stove – around 85%
• Open Flame Wood Burner – 25%
• Open Flame Gas Fire – 25%

Heating Your Room

You can calculate the amount of energy required to heat your room by using this fantastic tool from Dimplex – Heat Design Service – Online Calculator

Looking at the models above if we needed 2kw to heat the room this is what we would need to buy and the costs:

• Electric Fireplace – 2kw – 30p per hour
• Flueless Gas Fire – 2kw – 10p per hour
• Wood Burning Stove – 2.35kw – 23.5p per hour
• Open Flame Wood Burner – 8kw – 80p per hour
• Open Flame Gas Fire – 8kw – 40p per hour

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If you have any questions about the running cost of your fire or need any further information or advice, please don’t hesitate to contact us.