Wood burning stove ouput size

Stove Help & Advice Home

What heat output should your stove be?

To decide what heat output your stove should be, you will need to measure the length, width and height of the room that you are going to put the stove in.

Then use our Online Kilowatt Calculator.

This will calculate the number of kilowatts you need to bring that room up to a comfortable living temperature when it is minus 1 degrees C outside.

Then visit our search page where you can search for stoves with a given heat output.

Adjust that figure up if:

There is a lot of un-double glazed window area
You have uninsulated outside walls
There is a staircase or other areas opening from that room to which you'd like to spread the heat
If the ceiling is very high

If the wood burning stove is to act as secondary heating, i.e. there is already central heating, then you have a greater latitude in your choice of stove. Remember that having a stove on with central heating wil simply mean that the thermostat will turn the boiler off a bit sooner, thus saving oil or gas.

Consider whether:

You want to be able to see the fire, and therefore want glass in the doors

You want to use it with the doors open, and so want a large door opening

You want to burn coal as well as wood, and so need a multifuel stove, as opposed to a wood burning stove.
For more info click these links: Wood burning Stoves Multifuel Stoves

You want to heat radiators or domestic hot water, and so need a back boiler (worth considering only if the stove is to be used frequently)