Wood Briquettes vs. Traditional Logs: A Definitive Price Breakdown
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We often hear people ask whether wood briquettes are more cost effective than traditional logs.
Yes, we all know that wood briquettes are a superior quality wood fuel, but surely this improved performance comes at a cost?
The answer: no! In fact, you actually save money by ditching the old-school firewood. Our team of wood fuel experts have done the maths.
Wood briquettes vs. logs: a price comparison
A standard 0.8m³ bag of traditional firewood holds 250kg of material. This comes in at an average cost of £150 with delivery.
A pallet of premium-quality wood briquettes contains 910kg of material, coming to a total cost of £472 with delivery.
Four times the fuel volume at the equivalent cost for firewood is £600, meaning that you actually get more weight for your money with briquettes.
That’s not all. Logs also have a 15% lower calorific value — this refers to the amount of heat energy produced when a specific quantity of wood is burned.
So, add in a 15% cost increase to achieve the same level of energy output, and you’ll be paying £690 for logs, compared to £472 for briquettes. This means that wood briquettes are, £ for £, over 45% better value for money!
Not only will you save money, but you’ll also be able to feel good about yourself, as briquettes are far cleaner and less polluting.
Why are wood briquettes superior?
As well as being more convenient to use, wood briquettes offer a longer, hotter and cleaner burn compared to traditional firewood — meaning you won’t have to worry about falling foul of any air quality regulations.
Higher performance: Because of their compacted, low-moisture structure, briquettes burn hotter, cleaner and for longer.
Compliant: Quality wood briquettes will carry the Ready To Burn mark, a certification created by DEFRA. This means that they meet Air Quality Regulations and are legal to burn at home.
Less polluting: Briquettes’ dryness produces less ash and smoke. As part of the government’s 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan, most towns and cities have been designated ‘Smoke Control Areas’. This means log burners will only be allowed to emit 3 grams of smoke per hour (down from 5g). Here, wood briquettes succeed, helping you to avoid a £300 fine.
More energy: As mentioned, briquettes are highly compacted, giving greater return on your burn. The calorific value is 15% more than firewood (burn time) at 4.8Kwh/kg.
More convenient: Compared to firewood, whose shape is unpredictable and inconsistent, briquettes are easy and compact to store — ideally under shelter (indoors). We’ve actually written a quick guide on how to store and use wood briquettes correctly!
Cleaner: As well as giving a cleaner burn, briquettes are also physically cleaner, being free of wood worm and dirt — unlike firewood.
Looking to stock up on premium wood fuels?
At Duffield Timber, our premium-quality ‘Lava Logs’ wood briquettes are available to buy through our e-commerce store.
Competitively priced, air quality compliant and boasting the Ready To Burn mark, they’re available in three pack sizes: full pallet, half ballet and box of three. We offer fast UK-wide delivery or click and collect from our HQ in North Yorkshire — whatever suits you.
If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to drop our team a message using the button below, or by getting in touch through our contact page.
Note: prices quoted in this blog are correct as of November 2023.