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Ask yourself, do I really need to have my central heating on all day when we only really use two rooms for everyday living? There are a couple of options worth considering as they can save money over the long term, this week, we're going to concentrate stoves. For the home with an open fire it is worth thinking about how much money is wasted getting heat from flames, an easy way to look at the cost of an open fire is at least €7 out of every €10 you spend on fuel goes up the chimney ! It's actually possible to reverse those numbers by using a stove instead of the open fire. Yes, you can get the same level of heat for €3 that you presently get for €10. How? It's quite simple really. One major drawback of an open fire is that you have a big hole in the room(chimney) constantly allowing heat to escape, especially when it's not in use! By fitting a stove it is possible to substantially reduce the heat lost up your chimney. The reason being, you can close off the air intake when the stove is not being used so that the heat from your radiators is not escaping, so not only will it save you money on your choice of solid fuel, it will actually save you money on your central heating too.  You don’t have to spend a small fortune on a stove today, in fact if your fireplace has a flat front it is possible to fit a stove insert without any major changes just remove the grate and you are ready to fit your stove. Stove inserts cost from €487.00 for a 3 Kw output that takes on average 20 minutes to install, there is wide variety of different stove options available, which usually means there are a lot of products on offer some better than others. Questions to ask when shopping for a stove Has the stove been tested and certified to EN 13240?Are spare parts readily available should anything goes wrong? Where was the stove manufactured? What happens if there is a problem with the product who provides back up service? Peter Crawley www.ecostoves.ie |