This cost of living crisis is proving hard for a lot of families and we’re here to help. In this guide we’ll offer a number of different ways you can use your fireplace, stove, etc to keep your energy bills down.

Reduce Gas & Energy Usage

Firstly, simply using your fire more to heat your home will help to reduce the amount of energy you are using. This means you can use your central heating, radiators or other appliances less when heating your home. A nice fire can also help a home feel cosy and welcoming.

While you don’t have to always use your fire, just use it whenever it is suitable to. As using it any amount more will help to reduce your bill at the end of the month. There are also a number of other electric appliances that use a large amount of energy, such as kettles, washing machines, TV’s, Lights, freezers and ovens.

Heat More Efficiently

When heating your home you want to do it as efficiently as possible and while there are ways to insulate your homes, there are also ways you can make your stove more efficient as well. Firstly by making sure it is well kept and clean and then by checking to make sure everything is in good nick. As cracks and leaks make your stove less efficient, and need to be fixed with fire cement or other sealers asap. While some problems can be fixed yourself, sometimes a professional is needed.

Heat More Selectively

When choosing how you want to use your heating, remember that you don’t have to keep every room heated. You can be selective with your heating and save a lot of money by only heating the rooms that you are in or going to be using. Why waste money heating your whole house if you are only using a few rooms. 

Some people don’t like waiting for the room to heat up and to avoid this you can plan ahead by starting your fire a bit earlier. Simply light the fire 30 minutes beforehand, while this is more effort; you will thank yourself in the long run.

Using The Right Fuel

Using smokeless coal is a great alternative to heating your house overnight. Smokeless coal can burn for a long time while producing a large amount of heat, making it perfect as an overnight fuel. You can lay the coals on top of a bed embers and open up the vents to allow the coal to catch. Otherwise start with a bed of kindling over a few firelighters, then light the firelighters and let the kindling catch before putting the coal on top.

Heat logs are a great alternative to logs, these compressed wood briquettes offer a more cost effective way of heating your home. Better still they are quicker at reaching their peak temperature then traditional kiln dried logs

Avoid wet wood, softwoods and reclaimed wood. While these woods can seem like a bargain, they are often more trouble than they are worth. Wet wood and reclaimed wood can contain a lot of other contaminants and release toxins into the air when burnt. They can also cause damage to your appliances. Softwoods contain a high amount of resin, which builds up creosote and soot in your appliances when burnt, making them run less efficiently.

We hope you get the idea of all the different things you can be doing to reduce your energy usage and the steep bills they bring. Hopefully you have found this guide useful and if you need any solid fuel be sure to check out our full range here!