What Size Wood Burning Stove Do I Need?

You can find out the appropriate wood burner size in kilowatts by:

1. Calculate the cubic space of the room by multiplying the width, height and length.
2. As a rule of thumb, divide the cubic space by 14 and this will give you a KW output needed for the room.
3. If your room needs a wood burner between 4-6 KW then you need a small wood burning stove.
4. If your room needs a wood burner between 7-9 KW then you need a medium wood burning stove.
5. If your room needs a wood burner between 10-15 KW then you need a large wood burning stove.
6. Using our calculator, you can take into account how well insulated your house is.
7. Using our calculator you can also take into account if you like the room to be warmer than 20°C or not.

When choosing a wood burning stove it is difficult to know what size/KW output to go for to suit your home. First thing to note is that people often buy a stove that is really too big for their needs. Whilst it is tempting to just buy the largest stove possible and get 'more bang for your buck', this is rarely the best option.

First of all, any stove that you get which is over 5kw must have a permanently open air brick or ventillation kit installed in the room the stove is in to ensure adequate air flow (but it is recomended for any burning appliance of any size). Have you considered this when looking at larger wood burners?

Secondly, stoves have an optimal performance efficiency and to acheive this they need to be running at their nominal heat output. If they are running at less or more than this they become less efficient, meaning that you spend more on fuel and the exhaust is more damaging to the environment. Accordingly getting a stove with a nominal heat output that matches the dimensions of your room is the only way to go.

To get a better idea of the heat output you actually need from a wood burning stove, you can use our Heat Output Calculator. You should remember that this is only a guide and factors such as how well insulated your home is, other sources of heat and how open-planned the area is will affect the output that is needed.

You also need to consider the physical size of the wood burner Vs the space available. Of course the stove itself has to fit but you also need room for the 150mm of clearance to the sides and rear and 225mm to the front of your hearth for compliance with building regulations. Your stove will also have a tested safe clearance to combustible materials, so you should always check the dimensions of the stove and measure up before buying.

Once you have spent some time to consider what size of stove to buy you can then look through our range of wood burning stoves that will best suit you. Click here to view our extensive range of small 4-6kw wood burning stoves, medium 7-9kw wood burning stoves and large wood burning stoves from 10-15kw.

23rd March 2017

Comments

Fedor Bunge says:
13th November 2018 at 6:18 pm
According to your instructions ALL rooms of whatever size need a small woodburning stove. Is this really the case?

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
3rd January 2019 at 2:39 pm
Certainly not, if you visit the Output Calculator on the Glowing Embers homepage, enter your room dimensions, this will calculate the range of KW you require. You will be surprised however how many people ‘oversize’ the stove they actually need as when it comes to wood burners, more is not better if the room does not require it

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
31st January 2020 at 10:51 am
No, not at all. If you enter your room dimensions into the output calculator, the response varies depenging on the dims’ entered

T says:
19th November 2018 at 4:17 pm
Before buy stove can u check for me please how much kw must be ? I have 4x small 600mm 3x 2000mm And 4x 1000mm Thank u.

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
31st January 2020 at 10:50 am
We would be more than happy to calculate that for you but could you clarify your room dimensions as L x W x H please

M Huws says:
17th February 2020 at 5:49 pm
Your calculation for stove sizing doesn’t mention if we are to measure in metres, feet inches etc.

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
18th February 2020 at 7:59 am
Please follow the link below to take you to our Output calculator which will present you with the option of feet or metres: https://www.glowing-embers.co.uk/blog/output-calculator/

Lucy OBryon says:
7th February 2022 at 10:51 pm
24 feet X 32 feet X 14 feet high open space 6 inches thick wall insulation. Concrete floor. What size and brand wood burning stove do you recommend?

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
8th February 2022 at 11:31 am
In entering the given dimensions into our Heat Output Calculator (www.glowing-embers.co.uk/blog/output-calculator), it suggests you will need a stove with around 14kw output. Please feel free to view out large wood stoves in the link I have attached below. Do always confirm the size required with your HETAS registered installer however: https://www.glowing-embers.co.uk/stoves-by-kw-10-kw-15-kw-large-wood-stoves-c-69_84

Steve Haithwaite says:
17th March 2020 at 4:25 pm
Can I install a multi-fuel stove that has a 12kw output when the room only requires 9kw? Thanks Steve

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
7th April 2020 at 2:03 pm
I would only advise adding a couple of KW on top of what the sizing calculator tells you is required for your room size. When it comes to stoves, it is not a case of ‘getting more for your money’ by having a higher output stove than is required as it will either A) be too hot for the room making it unbearable to be in and/or B) you will not be running the stove at its optimum output whioch is also its optimum performance in terms of efficiency and cleanliness of combustion.

jane purdie says:
14th October 2020 at 5:30 pm
what size stove do i need for a room measuring 1,483.2160 cubic feet or 42 cubic meters please

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
17th October 2020 at 1:26 pm
If you enter the room dimensions (H x W x D) into our output calculator (link below), this will show you the recommended stove size for that living space https://www.glowing-embers.co.uk/blog/output-calculator/

Joanne murray says:
13th December 2020 at 10:15 pm
what size insert stove is required to heat 18 rads..The house is 130square metres

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
23rd June 2021 at 4:00 pm
As a rule of thumb, you want to allow approx. 1.5kw per radiator so, using our Stove Search, you would need to be looking for boiler stoves with dedicated output to water of at least 27kw.

Adrian Ratan says:
20th December 2020 at 10:45 pm
Hi. I would like to buy an inset wood burner from you. KRATKI MAJA 8KW INSET WOOD BURNING STOVE – MAJA/PF Can you tell me please what is the minimum size for the flue liner in the chimney to be fitted for this product? Thank you

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
23rd June 2021 at 3:56 pm
The Kratki Maja features an 8? (200mm) diameter collar and so that is the minimum diameter for your flue system.

Alan Orourke says:
6th October 2021 at 12:17 pm
Hi Andrew my brother is moving house in a couple of weeks and has told me I can have his nester martin log burner its a few years old but in great nick it measures 620 wide by 700mm high ,I’ve calculated my room size as you advised on how to do and my room is 43.75 divided by 14 is 3.125 ,I’ve tried to have a look for the kW of yhe log burner but can’t find it ,do you think thus will be yo big many thanks alan

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
6th October 2021 at 12:24 pm
Nestor Martin are a very well-built stove brand so you have done well to inherit one! If you could provide me with your room dimenions (W x L x H) I could calculate the required KW more accurately for you. With regards to the suitability of this burner for your living space, are you able to see if the data plate is still attached to the rear or side of it? This would tell you the model name or code and the precise KW output of it.

Anthony Walsh says:
26th November 2022 at 11:53 pm
Hi I have a very old house 16th century with solid walls. My lounge measures 6m x 4.5m x 2.2m It’s a bit draughty with an open staircase and landing to one side. I’m looking to generate enough heat for this room and to help with sending some heat to the room above what KW would you suggest? Thank you

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
9th December 2022 at 4:20 pm
From having a look at your dimensions and the other information provided, our output calculator would advise a stove between 7 and 11KW would be ideal. Please find a link below to the calculator for your reference. https://www.glowing-embers.co.uk/blog/output-calculator/

Kevin Liversage says:
26th December 2022 at 11:07 am
How do you calculate for a double sided stove? Is it the dimensions of both rooms? Or the biggest room?

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
30th December 2022 at 1:11 pm
You can do this by calculating the cubic space of the room by multiplying the width, height and length. As a rule of thumb, divide the cubic space by 14 and this will give you a KW output needed for the room. If you enter the room dimensions (H x W x D) into our output calculator (link below), this will show you the recommended stove size for the overall living space https://www.glowing-embers.co.uk/blog/output-calculator/

Stephanie Roberts says:
8th February 2023 at 8:54 pm
Hello, We wish to buy a multi-fuel burner for our back dining room in our Victorian end terrace. Room is 440cm long x 376cm wide x 226cm high and has a staircase leading directly up from the dining room. We were told by our sweep to get a 5kwt burner however could you please advise whether we get one that burns to a maximum output of 5kwt (such as the Firefox 5) or one that goes above? We’re interested in the Firefox 8 however as this burns up to 8kwt, would we need internal ventilation as I imagine this would be an additional cost at installation? We have a Tiger 5kwt in our lounge that we inherited and we don’t appear to have any internal ventilation for that. Looking to buy the burner asap so would appreciate your advice on this matter.

Andrew Shuttleworth says:
10th February 2023 at 10:14 am
We have emailed you directly also but to address your enquiry regarding the ventilation, houses built before 2008 will require a permanently open vent into the room in the case of having a stove installed with over a 5kw output. An additional 550 mm2 of air ventilation is required per kw over 5, so in this case, you will need 1650mm2 of additional ventilation. Please see links below to our range of Rytons AirCore Ventilators (all of which state the mm2 of ventilation they provide) and our info page on air supply to stoves. I would always suggest discussing higher kw options with your installer prior to making your choice. https://www.glowing-embers.co.uk/air-bricks-ventilation-kits
https://www.glowing-embers.co.uk/blog/air-supply-and-ventilation/