You may be surprised to learn that a wood burning heater is carbon neutral? You are not alone, the fact is wood is a carbon neutral fuel. This is because it absorbs just as much carbon dioxide in its growth as it releases when it is burnt. So it’s a eco friendly way to keep warm.

Burning wood is suitable for most households with a chimney so you should be able to get all the benefits of a wood burning or solid fuel heater. In a typical single room installation it could save up to 10% - 30% on your heating bills if you use oil or gas, and a lot more if you use electricity.

They look great too! A woodburning heater will become the focal point of the room and with so many wood burners to choose there is a burner to suit all tastes and sizes. In addition to looking good nothing beats the feeling of a real fire.

Always follow the correct regulations, you must always make sure any woodburning stove you choose is installed by a registered fitter not only because it will result in a more efficient burning of your wood, it is of course safer.

Speak to your local council office who can tell you if you are in a smoke restricted area. Many local authorities have a smokeless policy so woodburning may not be an option for you. If in doubt ask.

Now to your fuel, what can you burn on a wood-burner? Well, logs are the most common form of fuel at the moment and these can usually be collected from local sources. It is most important that they are dry and well seasoned - if they’re not you should store them for at least a year. And if you are burning “pure” wood the chimney needs sweeping twice a year.

Sawmills can be an excellent source of off cut wood so checkout and see if you have a local business or sawmill, this could save you a packet. Even wood offcuts are carbon neutral.

Hand made logs made for wood pulp or waste paper are also another alternative. They are made from waste paper and sawdust and bound together into log shapes with an inflammable sealant that makes them easy to light. But they take time to create and could prove more expensive.

There are other options, too, such as briquettes. The route you choose should obviously suit you pocket and the world around you.

Before you buy a Wood burning stove checkout Grenadiers authentic African Wood burning stoveand their award winning electric firelighter