Cost of living crisis/kWh Measuring Contest

I think the real issue is that it's often quite miserable to live somewhere with just a single heat source, I remember several horrible winters in a flat with just a single gas fire in it when I had just left university.

There's something very cosy about a coal fire in your sitting room for example, if the rest of the house is at a reasonable temperature thanks to central heating - one of it's main benefits is keeping the rest of the house dry, damp makes everything feel even colder than it actually is.

It's bloody miserable if a fire is your only source of heating though. I wonder if we'll see more people unblocking old fireplaces and turning down the central heating a bit and having a fire in the room they use most if the energy prices keep increasing? 

Then they’ll discover how SHIT
smokeless fuel is. Ruined fires for me that stuff. Like burning compressed, damp nylon socks.

We're kind of tempted to get a log burner, as winter evenings are usually 90% spent in the sitting room, which is the coldest room of the house thanks to single glazed bay windows. Heating gets cranked up to the 20s for that room specifically, even though the rest of the house is comfortable enough in the teens.
Chimney is already open and the previous owner had open fires, but that feels a bit iffy to me.

I'd still use the heating (and dehumidifier to keep the damp at bay) of course, just not as much hopefully.

Could also just sort out the windows too of course, but don't really fancy the cost of doing both.

The hardest part is getting someone from the council to sign it off. I think a lot of people are getting it done now and it was a fucking nightmare getting our cert.

Block up the chimney and that heat won’t escape.

I might get an old oil barrel and fill it with twigs and paraffin.

In the front room.

I just urinate on myself. Renewable.

I've got an open fireplace and literally no clue what to do with it. Old victorian terrace.

Hope and dreams?

Do you not buy anthracite then? I always used to buy it when I had an open fire, purely because it's the very best coal - high heat output and long lasting. But it is a naturally smokeless fuel, so perfectly fine to burn if you're in a smoke controlled area.

The downside is that it's much harder to actually get the fire going in the first place with anthracite, but once it's going, it's great.

I tried these

www.bio-bean.com/coffee-logs/

Didn't seem any hotter than kiln dried we'd been using. Also the problem is that these are more expensive to buy in bulk, than actual kiln dried wood. 
Again being punished to try and do an eco thing.

I'm going to set myself on fire, so I'll be warm for the rest of my life.

Tip for anyone getting a wood burner, if you have a big open room and feel like it’s not providing enough heat then a little £40 stove fan on top pointing at your sofa makes a massive difference.

Darwin in action