How warm is 3,000 watts?
3 kW sounds technical. This is how much heat it really is, and why it is plenty for a living room.
· Pick a stove ·
Output
up to 3 kW
Burner
1,5 L
Burn time
3–8 h
Smallest room
63 m³
· Room calculator ·
Your room: 75 m³
Glödvik suits your room.
Suits: Glödvik, Eldholm, Lågsund, Brasby, Milö, Fyrö.
Rule of thumb ~100 W/m²: the room needs about 3 kW.
· Compare the heat ·
3
1,000 W panel heaters
1,5
2,000 W hair dryers
· An evening by the fire ·
4 h in Glödvik uses about 0,8 L, 50% of one fill.
Estimate based on ÖKO's longest burn time per fill. A higher flame burns faster.
Ethanol stove
45–120 kr
0,8–2 L, low to full flame
Wood stove
63–79 kr
about 10 kg bagged birch
Shop prices October 2026: bioethanol 53–79 kr/L (5 L can), birch firewood 95–119 kr per 40 L sack. Wood is estimated at about 2,5 kg per hour. A wood stove also needs a chimney, sweeping and a building notice, an ethanol stove doesn't.
Three panel heaters
Three 1,000 W radiators, all running at full power at once, that is the same heat as one Stadskamin burner puts out. A real flame drives all three.
A wood stove on low
A small wood stove gives 3–7 kW. 3 kW matches it at low demand, the same heat, but with no chimney, no permit and no ash.
A living room
The rule of thumb in Swedish homes is about 100 W per m². 3 kW covers a living room of around 30 m² in a normally insulated home, and more in a well-insulated apartment.
· Heat in context ·
Small panel heater
1 kW
Large panel heater
2 kW
The Stadskamin burner
3 kW
Small wood stove
3–7 kW
· How long it burns ·
Size does not change the output, it changes how long the fire lives and how large a room it suits.
| Model | Burner | Burn time | Smallest room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glödvik, Eldholm, Lågsund, Brasby, Fyrö | 1,5 L | 3–8 h | 63 m³ |
| Milö | 1,5 L | 4–8 h | 63 m³ |
| Härdberg | 3 L | 6–9 h | 80 m³ |
| Gnistad (2027) | 3 L | 6–9 h | - |
And the difference from a radiator? Radiant heat. You feel the flame directly, like sitting by a real fire, heat that reaches you across the room, not just the air around it.
Buyer's guide
Installation, fuel, size and safety →