Range-Heated Rooms

Choosing a range cooker isn’t just about looks and budget, it’s also about selecting the right type of fuel for your cooking habits and household. Some models can provide all your central heating and domestic hot water needs, and most offer a choice of fuel options, including bottled liquid petroleum gas, which is ideal if you live in a remote area. Look out for appliances featuring multi-channel programmers that allow cooking, heating and hot water functions to be run independently and timer controlled. If you are after a cast-iron range, you’ll need a chimney or flue and a site survey. Whatever range you choose, it should be installed by a qualified engineer: OFTEC for oil, CORGI for gas and HETAS for solid fuel, and it should be serviced once or twice a year.

For a really traditional option, try the Woodfired cooker from Esse. It can heat several radiators at once.

The Rayburn 800 series by Aga can provide all the heating and hot water for a busy household. The oil-fired model comes in six colours and the largest can heat more than 20 radiators. The boiler and cooker run independently and are controlled by a timer.

Waterford Stanley’s Brandon range cooker can heat from 12 to 20 radiators as well as offering hot water and cooking functions. In a variety of sizes and enamel colours, the Brandon will run on gas, oil or solid fuel and works with underfloor heating.