Heating guides: stoves, fireplaces, fuel and chimneys
Plain-English guides for anyone heating an Irish home with a stove or fire: choosing an appliance, buying and storing fuel, keeping the chimney safe and understanding the rules.
Appliances
Stove fans: how heat-powered fans work and whether you need one
How heat-powered stove fans work without electricity, what difference they make to a room, where to place one, and the common mistakes that damage them.
Stoves with a back boiler: how they work and what to check
How a stove with a back boiler heats water and radiators, the systems it can connect to, safety essentials, sizing and the questions to ask before you fit one.
Ecodesign stoves: the EU standard explained
What an Ecodesign stove is, the EU efficiency and emission limits that apply since 1 January 2022, how to read the energy label and what to ask before buying.
Stove vs open fire: which heats a room better?
How a stove compares with an open fire for heat output, fuel use, smoke and safety, with EU efficiency figures and the practical points for Irish homes.
Fuel and the rules
Kiln dried logs: what you are paying for and how to check it
What kiln dried logs are, why moisture under 20% matters for stoves and open fires, how to check a delivery, and what Irish solid fuel rules say about wet wood.
Solid fuel regulations in Ireland: what changed in 2022
A plain-English guide to Ireland's solid fuel regulations since October 2022: smoky coal, smokeless fuel, wet wood, turf and what you can still burn.
Are there SEAI grants for stoves?
Is there an SEAI grant for a stove? What SEAI home energy grants cover, where solid fuel stoves fit in, and what the old Greener Homes Scheme offered.
Safety and maintenance
How often should a chimney be swept?
How often to sweep a chimney for wood, coal and smokeless fuel, the signs it needs doing, what a proper sweep involves and how to prepare for winter.
Looking for an older model? The catalogue archive keeps pages from the former Hearth & Home showroom, from fireplaces and gas fires to cookers and barbecues, as a historical record.