The major direct financial advantage of wood fuelled heating is the lower fuel cost. However, these systems can be more capital intensive than, say, oil systems.

• System costs

The costs of pellet stoves currently range from about £1400 to £2500 for a heat output of between 2 - 8kW , with the flue system and installation perhaps adding £1000 to the total.

More complicated stoves with a back boiler are more expensive and cost around £2,500.

•  Lifetime costs

Fuel prices are always changing and it is difficult to predict what will happen in the future. At present wood pellets are cheaper than many fossil fuels and as a renewable source of fuel will not be subject to future ecotaxes such as the climate change levy.

Money spent on a fossil fuel is of little value to local, rural economies with the great majority of revenue going to remote multinationals and their shareholders. But buying locally produced wood pellets keeps money in local economies ensuring that they can prosper sustainably.