When it comes to settling down and getting cosy on an evening, there is nothing quite like cocooning up in a fluffy warm blanket beside your wood burner fireplace. In this edit, we’ll discuss small wood burner options for consumers with compact-sized living rooms or spaces that don’t require larger log burners that will pump out far too much heat for the space. We’ll cover some of the questions that we are frequently asked and we have also compiled a selection of perfect small wood-burning stoves you should consider if you’re looking to fit one into a small space like a snug, houseboat, shed or home office.

Contents

Benefits of a small wood burner
Which are the best small log burners
Is 5kW enough heat output?
What size is considered to be a small wood burner?
What kind of flue do I need?

Very small wood burners are becoming a big trend in the UK and it is easy to see why, they often combine traditional style with modern functionality and a small wood-burning or multi-fuel stove is an ideal heating solution for improved efficiency in your home.

1. Flexible installation options - There are a multitude of fitting options for small log burners, they can be installed within several different scenarios including snugs, compact living spaces and even conservatories. Our modern small wood burners are also Ecodesign-approved and DEFRA-exempt for Smoke Control Areas making them suitable for both urban and country settings. So wherever you’re located in the country we’ll have an approved, pocket-sized wood burner suitable for your heating needs. Did you know that up and down the UK log burners are a popular heating choice for garden rooms, offices, sheds and boats too?
2. Sturdy construction - Some of the best small wood-burning stoves are made from cast iron, high-grade steel or a combination of both materials. There is a slight difference between the materials and how they perform but all the pint-sized stoves we supply come with a comprehensive warranty and are built to last. A good quality wood-burning stove should continue to work for up to 20 years, with some log burner owners claiming they've had the same one for over 40 years!
3. Wellbeing benefits - The fire from a log burner has been scientifically proven to improve our mood and can help to reduce blood pressure. On a cold winter's night cosying up in front of your wood-burning fire can be an appealing thought. The process of lighting a stove after a tough day at the office can be satisfying, followed by the warmth and soothing crackling sounds of logs creates a calming and meditative atmosphere that promotes relaxation and reduces stress in the household.
4. Excellent heating efficiency - Not only are wood stoves becoming more eco-friendly, but they’re also becoming more efficient which means a new log burner should cost less to run than an older generation stove or open fire. More heat generated by a wood burner is used to heat your home rather than getting lost up the chimney or flue. Cranking up the radiators is nol longer necessary when you’ve got an efficient stove especially if you’re looking to spend most of your time where your wood stove is situated. You can turn off the heating completely throughout certain periods of the day and as a result, you’ll be saving energy and therefore money!

Free up space with a versatile small stove from our comprehensive range, we stock all the industry-leading brands like Stovax, Hamlet, Woodpecker and Arada. Our selection of small log burners will snugly fit within your living space offering an efficient and cosy heating solution at minimal running costs. We’ve picked some of the best small wood burners that will add ambience and comfort and combine elegant traditional styling or bold contemporary impact to your space. These smaller wood-burning stoves offer you an ideal way to achieve greater self-sufficiency when it comes to home heating.

The size of the wood burner you choose will depend on the area of the room where it is being fitted. You might be asking yourself whether a 5kW stove will be enough to heat your space as you don’t want a shortfall in the heat requirement for the room. Likewise, you don’t want a stove that is too powerful. A room measuring 7m long by 4m wide and with a height of 2.5m is 70m3 of space, you can then divide the sum by 14 and in this case, it means you will require a 5kW stove.

When calculating the size of the stove, you need to remember to take into account how well-insulated the space is, if the room is open-plan or if you’d like the heat to travel into other areas within the home. A stove needs to fit your living space perfectly so if you have a tight space then a large log burner, for example, a double-door stove model might be too overwhelming. You should avoid installing a wood burner with a heat output too large for the space as you could run into problems with ventilation and overpowering heat within the room.

Predictably, a larger house, room or space requires a substantially sized log burner to effectively heat the space. And the larger the heating appliance the more fuel you will use, as a rough estimate, a 5kW log burner used during evenings and weekends from October to April is likely to require 3 to 4m³ of logs per year.

Small wood stoves are a fantastic space-saving solution, especially if the place you’re looking to fit it is tight. Compact stoves can be perfect for small 16” or 18” fireplace chambers when a knockout of your fireplace is not possible. When talking about a small stove or log burner we’d put heat outputs of 3kW, 4kW and 5kW into this category as this is often the perfect amount of heat for the typical garden shed, garage or small room. Wood burning and multi-fuel stoves of this output typically have a width of 30-40cm and a height of 40-50cm so they’re not too overwhelming for most places they’re positioned.

The type of flue you’ll need is specific to where your small log burner is being installed. If your stove is being fitted into a fireplace in your home with a working chimney then a flexible flue liner is often required. If you don’t have a chimney or want to install a stove within a garden room, for example, we recommend a twin wall pre-insulated flue system. Building Regulations suggest a minimum height of 4.5 meters for natural draft flues, the flue can terminate by passing through the roof or wall of your building (see our comprehensive flue system guide for more details). Depending on how your outbuilding has been constructed, you will need to check that its roof is suitable for the twin wall flue and flashing kit to be fitted, glass and plastic roofs can often pose a problem. A twin wall flue system allows you to enjoy the benefits of a wood-burning stove in a house without a chimney.