Wood Stoves
Today’s wood stoves are safe and energy-efficient. They are radically different from traditional pot-bellied stoves or cook-stoves in terms of efficiency and smoke emissions.
Modern wood stoves
Modern wood stoves produce little smoke and ash and require much smaller amounts of wood. According to EPA, traditional pot-bellied wood stoves release 40 to 60 grams per hour, while modern certified wood stoves produce only 2-5 grams. That’s a huge difference.
Modern wood stoves deliver heat by a combination of convection and direct heating. The sides and rear of many stoves are specially shielded in order to create convection flow of heated air, while the fronts - with glass panels or solid metal doors - deliver the hot air directly into the room.
Certified wood stoves
If shopping, choose a certified wood stove. Wood stoves with Underwriters’ Laboratories (UL) label or with a EPA certification (in USA and Canada) will produce low-emissions and are energy-efficiency units; and they are also a guarantee of safety, air quality and low bills.
Wood Stoves location
Wood stoves provide a large set of possibilities involving their location… as long as there is a chimney. Pay attention to some simple principles to get the best performance. Namely, choose a central place in the main-floor living area of the home. Take also into account the flue pipe placement: it should run straight up into the chimney.
For vent-free stoves (gas stoves), see: Gas Stoves
Maintenance
Wood stoves demand a regular – though simple and cheap - maintenance. Annual inspections are recommended to get safety and efficiency.
Sizing wood stoves
Wood stoves come in different sizes (and designs), and selecting the proper size is an important issue. A too small or a too large stove for the space to be heated may turn out a very wrong decision.
Obviously, small units are designed to heat small areas and larger stoves proportionally larger areas. But this is just a rough principle, since climate or home insulation and also determine sizing.
Be careful. Oversizing is as bad as the opposite. If the output of the stove is too large, it will be less efficient and produce more smoke..
Note:
Don’t be mislead by the appearance of modern stoves. The appearance may not reflect their power and efficiency (the output of a wood stove is measured in BTU’s per hour, and values in the range 20,000 - 90,000 BTUs are very common).
Large wood stoves
Though the large and small sizes issue is relative, in broad terms, larger wood stoves are conceive for large and open-plan houses, or medium and non-insulated and leaky homes in cold climates. Large-output stoves do not work well in houses divided by walls.
On the other hand, smaller stoves are suitable for heating individual rooms and specific areas of a house: the living room, for instance. Small wood stoves are ideal to zone heating, that is, to heat specific rooms and areas supplementing or replacing other heating systems (namely central heating systems, in large homes).
Buying
Whenever available, prefer a certified wood stove. European eco-labeling doesn’t cover stoves, but in USA or Canada you have the EPA’s rating for wood stoves. Prefer also, when available, UL labeled stoves.
You may also get advice from a knowledge wood stove dealer. Experienced retailers should know the efficiency of the stoves they are selling and can help you to choose a stove with the correct output for the room or the house you want to heat.
Design: cast iron and plate steel stoves
The exterior designs of a wood stove – finishes, cast iron, plate steel… - is mainly an aesthetical issue. The truly important is the modern technology incorporated in the stove, allowing very low smoke emissions or large heating capacities and efficiency.
Cook stoves
Cook stoves aren't heating devices. Manufacturers have been developing more efficient cook-stoves, much more cleaner, but they are still smoky and inefficient heater devices.
Choosing a wood stove
When buying, prefer certified and well ranked models and brands (EPA certified stoves and UL labeled stoves). You may also take into account features as…
- the dimensions;
- the firebox size (2 cubic ft? 3 cubic ft? 4 cubic ft?, etc.);
- the hardwood capacity (60 lbs? 80 lbs?, etc.);
- the maximum log length;
- the smoke emissions (2-5 grams/hour is the current range);
- the maximum and the average output (BTU/hour);
- the heating capacity (the number of sq ft/m2 that the stove can heat: 3,000 sq ft? 4,000 sq ft?)
Compare these features for several wood stove models.
See also: