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Heating your home using a wood burner is cheaper than ever, if you know how to get the best out of it.

Why wood burners in 2018 are efficient & cheap to run

Modern wood burners are far cleaner and greener these days, burning at about 60%+ efficiency compared to old open fireplaces (20% or less). An efficient wood burner will supply heat at around 6-10 cents per kilowatt hour (depending on the price of firewood) compared to the average retail electricity price of around 28.8c/kwh.

If you’re buying a new wood burner, know the rules

If you live on a block larger than 2ha (5 acres), you can have any wood burner you like. If your block is under 2ha, you need to install one that complies with emission and efficiency standards.

However, if you live in Canterbury and Nelson, their regional councils have more specific rules: Canterbury ecan.govt.nz/data/ authorised-burners/ Nelson nelson.govt.nz/environment/airquality/approved-burners/approved-woodburners-2/

You must have a permit and the work must be done by a specialist installer. The store you buy it from will help you with this.

How much firewood do you need?

If you use a wood burner each weeknight and day and night at the weekends throughout winter, you can budget on needing approximately 10m³ of firewood each year. The variation depends on your climate, the insulative properties of your home, and the variety and quality of your firewood.

A 1ha plantation can potentially produce several tonnes of firewood, up to 15 tonnes or more per year.

However, if you plan to plant and coppice trees, you will get less because you need to leave a proportion standing for the years ahead.

If you have chosen unproductive farmland to plant your firewood block, tree growth may be slower than average and it will take longer for trees to reach a good size for firewood. The ideal size is logs of about 110mm in diameter or less, once dry.