Even government approved “eco” wood burners produce 450 times more pollution than gas heating

The problem is that all these things, described as 'middle class', are probably indulged in by less than 10% of the target group.

MOnica- also some clothes, hair cuts and ‘attitudes’ are dismissed or sneered at as ‘middle class’
Wood burners must have joined tofu

Could somebody define precisely what 'middle class' is. Is it an income range, defined by occupation, where you live, what you live in?

My definition would be the householders that fall into the middle third of households by income, essentially those with household incomes between £20,000-£40,000 www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/householddisposableincomeandinequality/financialyearending2022.

Our woodburner was fitted about 9 years ago. Just before they were designated wicked. I’m using it more this winter than ever. It heats the back sitting room to toasty - I need heat but only need one room toasty. The heat expands to the big kitchen area. I dry all the laundry in the woodburner room.
I’m with Norah - I’ll keep enjoying it. It’s not because I’m that dreadful insult ‘middle class’ - it’s because I managed to afford it’s fitting and I love reading in the warmth

M0nica

Heat pumps require a well-insulated house.

We live in a 550 year old house. For its age it is very well insulated. 12ins of insulation in the loft and more down between sloping ceilings and the roof. All the windows on the ground floor back are double glazed, we have secondary glazing etc etc BUT it is a house with big rooms and the cost of installing and running a heat pump would be astronomical and inefficient.

Yep, same here. Our stone walls are 90cm thick though.

GagaJo I thought the point about 'middle class status symbols' was interesting, based on the attitudes towards wood burning stoves on GN

I thought the same, as if there was status in a wood burner? Our home is quite old, high ceilings, fires work to cut the damp.

We'll continue on until forced to quit. Inside, with 2 fireplaces. Outside with gas burning pole heaters and fire pits. We love nibbles in the garden.

Heat pumps require a well-insulated house.

We live in a 550 year old house. For its age it is very well insulated. 12ins of insulation in the loft and more down between sloping ceilings and the roof. All the windows on the ground floor back are double glazed, we have secondary glazing etc etc BUT it is a house with big rooms and the cost of installing and running a heat pump would be astronomical and inefficient.

Casdon

Why are you repeating a thread that you started two weeks ago and which had a post on it three days ago GagaJo, I can’t see the point?
www.gransnet.com/forums/news_and_politics/1320828-Wood-burning-stoves-on-the-way-out-Possible-on-the-spot-300-fines

I did look for the old one and couldn't find it.

I thought the point about 'middle class status symbols' was interesting, based on the attitudes towards wood burning stoves on GN. AKA, I don't care. I'm using it anyway.

Medium term say 10yrs the best option is insulate as best you can and gas heating, because the capital cost of a more efficient system is so high.
Wood burning stoves are nice, we have one we use on very cold days but installation cost is about £2000 and dry wood expensive, it’s unlikely to save money. My DIL has just moved into an old house with an old wood burning Rayburn, that is surprisingly efficient, heats the rooms they use and hot water, other rooms she uses electric when needed.

Looking at the home heating alternatives is scary. Heat pump supply and installation around 15k and solar panels around 10k! Who's got that kind of money in their latter years???? I know I haven't. And the hard selling point is "they'll pay for them selves in 15 years........really!!! I doubt I would see that.

J52

Wasn’t there a time when we were all encouraged to buy diesel cars, on the basis that they were less polluting?
Look what happened there.

Yes, and it wasn’t all that long ago, either.

I only burnt 4 logs last night and it made my room super-warm and the hall too, I have an eco fan. Top down lighting for me ie warming the flue to remove the cold plug which makes smoke blow down. I use the little ecowood firelighters, two on the top are lit first, then I light the few under the logs

I am just about to order a cubic metre of logs, locally, to store for next year and beyond. Super efficient modern defra stove

Re top down lighting, yes it reduces indoor pollution from smoke blow-back but will make no difference to external pollution from inefficient stoves or from rubbish wood

No pollution in my house as measured

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Plastic was progress
Diesel was driving economy
Wood burners are the next thing . . .
And then it might well be electric cars

Whether you can us the 'top down' method depends on how big the fire box is. We could use this method in our French house, but the firebox in our UK home can only hold one or two logs at a time, so this method would be impossible to use.

When we had our very efficient, modern, stone clad, woodburner fitted- the installer showed us how to light a fire with the 'upside-down' method- and explained how this was much more efficient and cut pollution hugely. We always do this now

chimchereenew.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Upsidedown-Fire.pdf

If we didn't have our log burning stove we'd be cold. The gas central heating is only put on here for an hour at night to take the chill off the bedrooms.
I light the stove at about 3 pm each day, and the last log goes on at 9 pm. We know where we are with the logs, they've already been paid for. The gas price is exorbitant.

Why are you repeating a thread that you started two weeks ago and which had a post on it three days ago GagaJo, I can’t see the point?
www.gransnet.com/forums/news_and_politics/1320828-Wood-burning-stoves-on-the-way-out-Possible-on-the-spot-300-fines

Well we have no gas here- only oil. And we burm good quality, non resinous, dry wood.

Wasn’t there a time when we were all encouraged to buy diesel cars, on the basis that they were less polluting?
Look what happened there.

Yawn

So, if there’s no gas supply what do you do?