"I" newspaper had the front page headline on Saturday 10th August "Big six supplier set to raise gas and electricity prices after boosting their profits".

The article goes on to advise that typical fuel costs are expected to increase by between £70 and £140 this Autumn per household. This is after last week’s news about how much the energy companies profits had increased with the previous price hikes.

According to the SIA (Stove Industry Alliance) an approximate figure of 180,000 stoves were sold last year and some of these sales would have been due to houeholders wanting to reduce their fuel bills and with the above news, it looks as though more householders will continue that trend this year.

A typical decorative gas fire will have an efficiency of between 20% and 55% whereas a woodstove will have an efficiency of around 70 -75% so an automatic saving would take place when swapping to a woodstove.

With the installation of a woodstove, the householder is more in control of their fuel bills and less reliant on one supplier. You can chose to boost your central heating by operating your stove on really cold days and when it isnt so cold, the heating can be switched off and the stove will keep the chill away.

If these predications are accurate, as they too often are, then now is the time to look at installing your woodstove so you can beat the price hike.