While most people these days are not asking, “Do I want a wood burning stove,” they are asking, “Am I still allowed a wood burning stove” and most of the time the honest answer gets buried somewhere between council websites and panic posts on forums. Wood burning stoves are not banned in the UK. What has changed are the rules on what can be purchased and what can be burned, and the two rules are different.
Since January 2022, all wood burning stoves sold must comply with the Ecodesign standards. These regulations impose a limit on emissions and a lower threshold on efficiency. These regulations apply at the time of sale and do not impact stoves that are installed prior to the regulations. In the UK there are Smoke Control Areas, and if you live in one of these towns or cities, you must burn wood in a DEFRA-exempt stove, or burn approved wood that is smokeless. Most Ecodesign stoves are DEFRA-exempt, however, you must check the specific stove.
The main choice after addressing rules questions is what type of heat you need. A wood burner has a need for dry storage of wood and chimney space, neither of which all homes have. An electric heater avoids this, but will not give the warmth of a real fire. Gas fires are more expensive to buy and install because of the convenience they provide and the realism over an electric heater, yet they are less expensive in the long run as the only cost is determined by gas prices.
Most sites gloss over the cost of running a heating system. The price of kiln dried hard wood logs bought and delivered is around £100-£180 per cubic meter depending on location and supplier. A stove is often cheaper to run than gas, but people may be surprised to know that, against current (Jan 2023) gas prices, this isn’t true by as much as they may think.