Without giving all the background stuff, I wanted an additional heat source in out open plan lounge/kitchen. The room is an extension built in 2014 and is both very well insulated and attracts the sun from 11.30 till it goes to bed. Being a bungalow from the seventies, there is no chimney. Once the sun moves from the front onto the rear where we sit, there is a 2 to 4 degree difference in the rooms.
Initially, we went down the log burner route but that had problems, mainly leaving me to transport the logs around 45 yards and the fact they require a degree of maintenance and produce a lot of dust.
The answer was given to me by @DavecUK …….a flueless gas fire. I had never heard of them but it did not take long to look into them and find a local supplier. We choose an imitation log burner (I know!) and had it fitted yesterday. The unit has a catalytic converter inside to dispense with any fumes etc. The chap fitted a vent behind a radiator so it is unseen but meets with standards. The unit burns 100% of the gas it uses without waste. I can light it from my armchair so if we have a power cut it still works. As soon as you light it it goes to maximum but I have not got as far as working out if it is thermostatically controlled or whether I have to go to the extremes of clicking a button on the remote.
The cost, for the fire, a marble hearth, a wooden mantelpiece and any and all fittings etc, was £1660 and the fitting a further £380. The reason this was so attractive is two fold. The room we sit in has 3 radiators that I can now switch off. That leaves 5 for the rest of the house. I am guessing as we do not have cold weather yet but I am thinking we can simply flip the central heating on a couple of times a day and use the gas fire as needed. At 4.38 per KwH until next September, we are quids in. This is the fire and a couple of pics, but my question is, do log burners really offer anything over this solution when you just want to heat a small part of the house?
https://burley.co.uk/product/ambience-4121/