Had Nellie my 5 kw log burner installed 12 months ago . Unlike large houses who need the heat to warm there home I just wanted one because I love watching it. My shower and Cooker are gas but the heating has been turned off for 12 month.not our original intention but more than happy And this was the result , my winter gas bill ten quid a month and they owed me over a hundred . Bonus
Ok it cost three grand for fire but iv always wanted one so to me that doesn't count ,plus saw and now splitter , but every scrap of wood was free.
Hey nice stove!!! You're on your way to savings! Im sure it will be a little while until you start noticing more and more as it gets colder from your past habits to now and then on. Like you I hope to get everything done by Summer's end and all what would be next is learning the transition for me. Ive solely relied on Electric heat and now I wish to be done with that phase from now until I can no longer pick up a piece of wood or light my fires. Its too cheap to pick up wood and use that to beat the cold. From tree to Ash, you're likely to be part of the whole process and that alone is its own reward. I just knew I had to wait until I had a permanent residence before I could think about turning to wood heat. Always has been on my mind but I envisioned a fireplace not a wood stove! When I was learning how the efficiencies are reversed in a fireplace to wood stove, I was shocked but I learned that lesson quickly and accepted that there are attractive wood stoves out there and I found one I liked. Bit the bullet, but still in limbo. Wood is ready and more so as each warm day goes by. Hope you post more photos of your stove going and some in the stove jenga thread! Congrats to you Grahamt looks great!
Don't worry about the 3 grand. That part was a capital investment, not an expense. Your monthly gas bill is an expense. If you get at least a 3% annual return on a capital investment you are doing better than you would leaving that money in the bank. Around here bank interest runs at 1% annual return if you are careful enough to shop around the way I do. For most people in the US a 0.5% annual return would seem high to them. I have no idea the banking rates of return in the UK but in today's economy I doubt it comes close to the 3% number I used as a good trade off.
So if I take money out of the wife's savings account and spend it on that log arch I've been wanting, she should thank me, right?
If you can earn more return on that money with the log arch than she is earning in her savings account, it makes sense as an investment. I have no idea if she considers that savings account as an investment or has something in mind for it.