There is something mesmerising about the flames of a fire, making them comforting as well as warming. A stove is an incredibly efficient way to have the benefits of a fire in your own home. In fact the average stove is over 70% efficient compared with 30% for an open fire*. This clean, cosy heat source has become increasingly popular and many UK homeowners who have installed them report savings on their central heating bills.

Ways to get the most from your stove

However, there has been some confusing press recently, reporting that stoves are bad for the environment and face a potential ban. To clear up the confusion, DEFRA have clearly stated that stoves will not be banned. As a sustainable energy source a modern stove offers high heat efficiency and low carbon output. There are a number of things you can consider to ensure you are getting the most from your stove, whilst minimising the environmental impact.

1. Ensure you have the right size stove for your space. If it is too small it will struggle to create the necessary levels of heat. It’s also a common problem that people overestimate the heat they need and buy a stove that is too big and overpowers a room.
2. Consider your fuel source carefully. Use smokeless coal on a dual fuel stove, and always go for ‘ready-to-burn’(a government backed scheme), seasoned logs. These should have a maximum of 20% moisture. Wet or new wood will not give off the same heat when burnt, despite burning through the wood faster. It can also blacken your stove and chimney. Hardwoods such as oak or ash will give you a slower burn and longer heat output. Having the right fuel will not only give you greater heat for less cost, but will make your carbon footprint smaller.
3. Have your chimney swept annually or twice a year to be sure it is clean and in good working order.

You can even install a new chimney fairly simply in many houses that do not already have one. Where a chimney already exists it can easily be relined and adapted to allow the correct flue for a stove. So with all the factors considered, you can sit back and enjoy the glow of a fantastic stove and all the ambiance it brings.

We have a full range of dual fuel and woodburning stoves in our Surrey Showroom with a style to fit any type of home. Check out our stove page or pop into our showroom to really get a feel for them.

 

* (Source: http://www.stoveindustryalliance.com/energyefficiency/)

One question we get asked a lot is “what type of fire can I have when my house doesn’t have a chimney?”. The answer is often surprising and very positive, there are actually a few options for homes that do not have a chimney and there is no reason why you cannot enjoy the benefits of a stunning fireplace just like any other home.

Electric Fires

The first, and fairly obvious choice of fire for chimney-less homes is an electric fire. These fires do not need any kind of flue as they do not produce any kind of smoke or gas. The range of very realistic electric fires these days is huge and for a lot of people this is a very viable option. 

Twin Walled Flue Fires

If you do not have a chimney you can have a flue installed that goes up an external wall or up through the roof and out. The twin walled aspect is simply the construction of the flue itself. If you want a real wood burning stove then this kind of option allows you to have that. The flue can even be built into a fake chimney stack outside the house if the idea of exposed metal work isn’t suitable. This type of system does depend on having access to an external wall.

Flueless Gas Fires

Yes, you can have a gas fire without a flue. These rather clever fires can either use an in built catalytic converter to filter any gases. Flueless gas fires are a very interesting option for people with no access to an external wall. Of course, this type of fire needs a gas supply in the room in question. 

Balanced Flue Gas Fires

These very clever fires simply use two small pipes to exchange the gases and pull in air from outside. Once again, access to an outside wall is needed as is a gas supply. However, given those tow things these can be a very good option for having a real gas fire in a home with no chimney. 

If you are looking at your options in regards to getting a fire installed in your Surrey home and you do not have a chimney please get in touch and our friendly team can help work through the choices with you. 

 

 

 

There is no doubt modern electric fires are a million miles away from those many people will remember from the 80s and 90s. Gone are the cheesy plastic fake coals and the all to obvious fluttering strips of material behind a screen. While they may have been OK in days gone by they would not cut the mustard now and that’s a very good thing. Electric fires are now a very serious option for a number of reasons but one of the really big ones is that they look amazing.

Flexible Installation and Low Running Costs

One of the really big advantages of choosing an electric fire is that you do not need a chimney, which is handy when it comes to flats and new build homes. This means they can be installed in different places without being constrained by a flue. They are also normally simpler to install in general so can be a cheaper option depending on where you want it and what may need to be done to fit the fireplace. 

The actual cost of heating will be looked at later but the running costs of electric fires are low. By running costs we mean maintenance and upkeep. They do not need to be cleaned and swept like a real fire, they do not need the same level of servicing as gas fires and with modern LED lighting the bulbs don;t need to be changed for a very long time either. Keeping an electric fire looking good is as simple as dusting and cleaning anything other item in your home. 

Cost Of Heating 

As we continue to move towards a greener and greener energy culture an electric fire can be a great choice. They can be run with no heat so you can enjoy the visual effect for a tiny amount of money. But they can also be used to give warmth very efficiently. If you were to choose a renewable energy supplier you could in fact, heat your lounge in an almost totally sustainable way. 

Cons of Electric Fires

There really aren’t any real negative aspects to an electric fire but there is, perhaps, some personal taste involved. At the end of the day an electric fire does not use a real flame. This, for some people, means they may look at Gas or a real fire. But we often find that when people come into our Surrey showroom they are blown away by the realism of the electric fires we stock and quite often the pros soon outweigh this small negative. 

As with most types of fire there are a lot of different design choices so why not get in touch and speak to our friendly team or pop into the showroom and find out more.  

 

 

It’s always a pleasure to be invited to see a manufacturers showroom as it can be hard to visualise the products in a catalogue but seeing them in the flesh can make a product stand out.

The Focus Fireplaces showroom was filled with great examples of surrounds and beams that had been put with some outstanding fires which made the products from Focus Fireplaces really shine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having a tour of the workshop allowed us to fully appreciate the in house production of their wooden beams and surrounds, along with their quick and efficient delivery system which all happens in the same building. It’s easy to see why the products from Focus Fireplaces are of such a high quality when the production process is the efficient and streamlined.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The amount of work done by hand did come as a surprise, considering the intricacy of the designs and the amount of automation most companies use these days, which makes Focus Fireplaces a special company when it comes a high standard of hand crafted products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the office and workshop purposely situated in the same building, manufacturing is smooth and efficient with every surround and beam made to order.

For more information on Focus Fireplaces you can visit their website here or alternately you can call or visit our showroom.

 

 

When working in a competitive market it can be difficult to compare products and companies on paper, thats why it’s always a pleasure to visit the workshops and offices of the manufacturers we work with.

After visiting the Hearth & Home exhibition in Harrogate, we were lucky enough to be invited to see the Town & Country stoves being built and were given a hands on look at new and updated products.

The machinery and automation processes were impressive but the hand crafting of parts and the physical checks being done to assure quality were something rarely seen in todays day and age.

One thing that caught our eye was the amount of pride everyone seemed to take in their work, we had several of the Town & Country assembly/manufacturing team jumping in to our tour to give us a full explanation of what they were doing.

The passion for the products at the Town & Country workshop shows in the finished products and with new solid fuel and gas stoves on the way it’s definitely worth watching this space.

 

A full video tour is available for viewing here .

For more information on Town & Country products you can visit their website here or alternately you can call or visit our showroom.