Home Q&A: Can I heat my home office with a bioethanol fire?

Bioethanol units can be hot pieces of decor. Let's find out how they measure up in practical terms

Homcom (just under 2kW) bioethanol burner, €214.99, Aosom.ie.

Can I heat my home office with a bioethanol fire? 

Bioethanol fires are seriously trending and are being heavily promoted by influencers all over social media. 

Not requiring a flue, a bioethanol unit in a table-top variety of burner, or a mock stove on legs or hung from the ceiling, is a lovely bit of decorating and atmospherics. 

Ignited by pouring bioethanol fluid into a reservoir, they can look absolutely beautiful, answering our primal call to a flickering flame. 

There are some caveats for a home office. 

First of all, a smaller space, especially one under 25 sq m, will require good ventilation. Though not creating smoke, large amounts of CO2 or producing worrying levels of VOCs, any combustible, including bioethanol, depletes oxygen levels in the room (which could impact your health, concentration and energy levels). 

They also create water vapour, which could appear on windows as trickling condensation. In a small space, leave a door open to adjoining spaces or occasionally crack open a window for some air exchange. 

Secondly, despite suggestions to the contrary, these fires at 2kW to 3kW can generally only raise the temperature in a well-insulated space by a few centigrade. In winter, that’s supplemental heating not adequate for larger spaces if the temperature from a cold start is 15C on a winter’s morning. Manage your expectations. 

Finally, bioethanol is not cheap to run, costing around €4.50 to €10 per litre (think about 6kW to 6.5kW of service per litre). 

Buy litre bottles in boxes of 12 or more to keep costs down.  Obviously, treat these and all real-flame space heaters with respect.

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