Wood-burning stove or electric radiators: which is cheaper to heat with?

With electricity prices featuring so heavily in any conversation about heating, more and more customers ask us whether it is really worth keeping a wood-burning stove or whether it makes more sense to switch to electric radiators and forget about firewood, ash and maintenance. The short answer is that it depends on how you use it, but it is worth doing the calculation carefully before deciding.

How to compare fairly: cost per kWh

The only honest way to compare is by the cost per kWh of heat generated, not “how much a bag of firewood costs” versus “how much electricity costs”. A wood-burning stove properly loaded with hardwood has considerable calorific value per kilogram, while an electric radiator converts electricity into heat at almost a 1-to-1 ratio, but electricity usually costs more per unit of energy than firewood.

The result in practice

With good-quality firewood bought in advance (not last-minute bags, which are more expensive), the cost per kWh of a wood-burning stove is usually lower than that of conventional electric radiators, sometimes significantly so. The gap narrows if you buy expensive firewood in small quantities, or if your stove is an old, inefficient model — a traditional open fireplace can lose most of the heat it generates up the flue, which completely changes the equation compared with a modern insert.

Where electric radiators win: convenience and initial investment

• Installation: an electric radiator plugs in and works; a wood-burning stove requires a flue, certified installation and storage space for firewood.
• No annual maintenance: no chimney sweeping, no ash to remove, and no fire to keep an eye on.
• Remote control and programming: you can turn the heating on before you get home, something wood heating cannot do.

Where the wood-burning stove wins: hourly cost and independence

• Lower cost per kWh generated in most cases, especially if you use good-quality firewood bought in advance.
• It does not depend on the electricity grid — it continues to work during a power cut, which is relevant in rural or mountain areas where outages are more frequent.
• More enveloping and consistent heat in the room where it is installed, although it is not distributed as evenly throughout the home as with a central system.

So, which one should you choose?

For a regularly occupied home in cold areas of Catalonia or the Pyrenees, a wood-burning stove remains the more economical option in the medium term if you are prepared to make the initial investment and carry out annual maintenance. For a second home used occasionally, or an apartment where a flue cannot be installed, electric radiators (or an air-source heat pump, although that is another discussion) usually win on convenience, even though the hourly running cost is higher.

Frequently asked questions