Energy | The fireplace used to create atmosphere, now it saves Maria Mänty-Pauwels’ family from the energy crisis – Finns are already preparing for winter by hoarding firewood

in Rovaniemi I live Maria Mänty-Pauwels the family has ordered firewood in recent weeks and found out how much own wood is still left.

A family of three living in a detached house clearly increased their use of firewood last fall, when the price of electricity on the stock exchange rose.

They started heating the fireplace in the middle of the house regularly, and there was no need to turn on the electric heating at all in the winter.

For the coming autumn and winter, the Mänty-Pauwels make their own wood and order even more firewood than last year.

“Last winter, the trees ran out a bit. Now we are preparing for one and a half times the amount in case of a cold winter.”

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Multi has woken up hoarding firewood this summer because of the energy crisis. The sale of firewood is now clearly higher than in previous summers, confirm the firewood entrepreneurs interviewed by HS from different parts of Finland.

Operating in Rovaniemi Jouni Lehtinen says that in the summer the wood has gone double compared to usual. The sale of firewood started to pick up already last fall, when electricity prices started to rise.

“The latest craze started in June, and in July I was able to export wood all the time. Normally, it has been a bit quieter in July.”

Sales have at least doubled at Orivede as well, says a supplier of firewood to, for example, Tampere and Kangasala Juha Haikka.

Haikka has worked as a firewood entrepreneur for over ten years. He doesn’t remember a similar spike in demand, although at the beginning of the corona crisis, demand temporarily rose high. There are enough new customers now.

“There is so much demand that I haven’t had time to answer everyone,” says Haikka.

The quantities to be ordered are also now larger than usual in many places.

“Before, we took about three fuel cubes at a time, now six to seven fuel cubes”, Porvoo-based Timo Virtanen describes.

According to the entrepreneurs, most of the wood is used for additional heating of houses. Customers have heard that they are now preparing for next winter and the rise in energy prices.

“People panic and want to store wood. And burning wood is cheaper compared to electric heating,” says Virtanen.

Pine pauwels switching to wood heating in the family has greatly reduced the electricity bill.

According to Mänty-Pauwels, electricity was consumed last winter by almost half as much as the previous winter.

“Last year, electricity was consumed on average 1,500 kilowatts per month, and last year 850 kilowatts per month.”

Before last winter, the house was heated with direct electricity. The pines burned the fireplace in winter about once a week.

“Back then, the fireplace was more about increasing coziness. We have a fireplace with a window in the living room, which creates a wonderful atmosphere.”

This fall, they plan to start heating the fireplace regularly in August. In severe frosts, the fireplace is heated daily, in milder weather every other day.

The pines have a spare fireplace. It heats almost the entire 108-square-meter house. Floor heating is used in the wet rooms.

“The sauna and shower room are not heated by the fireplace, and our guest room is quite cool. Otherwise, parts of the house are a bit cooler and parts are hotter.”

Life increasing prices worries Mänty-Pauwels. He is on study leave this year, and the news about inflation and rising interest rates is worrying.

However, the possibility of heating the home with firewood eases the worry.

“We’re not really worried about the supply of energy, because we have an extremely good fireplace and wood from our backyard.”

The Mänty-Pauwels family was also able to change their electricity contract to a cheaper one in the spring. However, the family plans to pay attention to, for example, the use of an electric sauna.

“We are used to going to the sauna three to four times a week. Now we have talked about starting to go to a traditional Finnish family sauna on Saturdays. Savings come from small things.”

Read more: Finns are being educated in the fall to save energy: “Old ways must be adopted more boldly”

Prices the rise can also be seen in firewood. The pressure to increase the price of firewood is created by the increase in the cost of fuel and raw materials.

The situation causes concern for the firewood entrepreneur, says Jouni Lehtinen. He should buy raw wood in the fall and the seller just announced that its price will increase.

“It is not yet known how much. Now there are a lot of open issues that make you wonder what will become of this.”

Sufficient wood is also a concern. The entrepreneurs interviewed by HS say that due to demand, the warehouses will now be depleted faster than in previous years.

“I’m terribly afraid that there won’t be enough wood for the whole winter. In the spring, we stocked up on the hill, and if we can make it until March, it will be a miracle,” says Lehtinen.

In Orivedi, it is predicted that the trees will run out already in December.

“In previous years, the trees have lasted until spring,” Juha Haikka compares.

Mänty-Pauwels according to, electricity consumption and heating solutions are now causing discussion among acquaintances.

For example, in the message group of her husband’s work group, monthly electricity consumption is compared.

“Consumptions are compared when some have an old house and some have a new one, and some have geothermal heat and some have direct electricity.”

Mänty-Pauwels is satisfied with the change that heating with firewood has brought to their family’s finances.

“Especially in these latitudes, long frost periods have a terrible effect on the use of electricity. If you compare it to the electricity consumption of friends’ families, it’s minimally small for us.”