The energy sector has proven to be one of the few areas that has escaped the declines in the markets. For small businesses in the UK, one area which is turning out to be highly profitable is the firewood business. Firewood sales are now projected to increase by 20% during the upcoming winter, as homeowners are buying and installing wood stoves to heat their homes, while gas and oil prices skyrocket, and limited Russian flows threaten to potentially leave some without heat this winter.

Nic Snell, managing director at Certainly Wood, the largest firewood supplier in the UK, says they are seeing demand already begin to grow as millions of households begin preparing for a cold winter with sky-high energy bills, and possibly rationed, or even short supplies of the fuels they will need to keep their homes habitable.

Snell said, “People are starting to stock up now, but I’d imagine we could see a 10% to 20% increase in demand this coming winter, because firewood prices have increased but nowhere near the rise seen in energy prices.”

According to Snell, the amount of firewood needed to maintain a fire on evenings and weekends when people are home, for the winter, would cost roughly £600 ($706), which will be far less than the cost to heat the home with gas, heating oil, or electric.

The forecasts for energy bills in the UK is already quite grim, as the prices of gas and electricity skyrocket. The UK independent energy consultancy Auxilione’s most current outlook projects that energy bills in Britain will reach £6,000 (nearly $7,060) in 2023. By January, people working from home are expected to be paying £683 ($808) per month.