How To Recognize The Right Wood Burning Stove For You
Why a Wood Burning Stove Should Be Properly Sized and Installed Wood stoves are an excellent method of providing efficient, cost-effective heating for your home. However, a wood stove needs to be installed and sized correctly to maximize efficiency. Do not open and shut the door to the wood stove often as this can create an atmosphere that draws smoke and volatile compounds that are not burned back into the room. Energy Efficiency Radiant heat is used to warm the home instead of hot air that's forced into the house through its ventilation system. This is more efficient way of heating because it produces radiant warmth that radiates from all sides of the stove, heating your entire house rather than only one central area. Modern wood stoves are designed to be as efficient as they can. Manufacturers have to meet stricter emission standards and the most efficient way to achieve this is by making their stoves more efficient in energy use. The vast majority of our stoves (both DEFRA approved and EPA certified) have official efficiency ratings of 70%, which means that a significant portion of the heat generated is actually used to heat your home, rather than going up the chimney. A wood burner can also be a source of heat that is totally independent. A wood burner can provide warmth during a power outage or gas shortage, if you have enough logs. Wood burning stoves also provide a more reliable heating option than other types of heaters, since they don't rely on electricity or oil to operate. This is particularly crucial in a remote environment where other energy sources may be disrupted for prolonged durations. A quality log burner is able to operate at a rate of around 80% efficiency which means that a substantial portion of the heat that is created is actually being used to heat your home. woodburner stove is an enormous improvement over older stoves that typically operated at less then 20% efficiency. This is one of the reasons a new stove is a good investment. A catalytic wood-burning stove will re-burn unburned gases and smoke that leave the firebox through secondary combustion, further improving efficiency. However non-catalytic stoves are becoming more popular because they don't require expensive catalyst technology to attain similar efficiency and can be considerably cheaper to purchase. This is particularly beneficial for those looking to reduce their carbon footprint and save money on fuel costs. Clean Burning A wood stove burns wood and generates heat, but it also releases particles and gases into the air. In certain areas this can result in poor air quality, which can affect our health and well-being. It is important to make use of clean-burning technology for your wood stove. When you have a modern, contemporary wood stove that has Clean Burn technology, it drastically reduces airborne dust and particulate emissions. This not only makes your home healthier, but it can also save you money as you get more heat for every log. Today's ECO design stoves meet one of the most strict requirements in the world when it comes to particle emissions – they are permitted to release no more than 5 grams per kilogram of wood that is burned. At Jotul we have more ambitious goals – we'd like to give you the very best when it comes to climate and your health. We have created a solution that lets our wood stoves emit less than half the required standards – in certain cases, less than one grams! A modern stove comes with a variety of ways to optimize the combustion of the wood. It is important to monitor air flow and only reduce it after the fire is hot and stable. Cleaner burning stoves produce less creosote. This sticky substance can cause serious fire dangers. A lower level of creosote production could reduce time and cost in chimney cleaning. The pre-heated air in our new wood stoves is an additional element in their performance to the highest level. This is an extra layer of air that is inserted over the fuel, and helps to ensure all particles are fully combusted. This is responsible for a large part of the outstanding performance of our new stoves, like the Defra-approved Hi-Flame Graphite 5 You should always ensure that your wood stove is used only in smoke control zones (or exempt areas) in areas that permit to do so. Smoke from a wood stove is not only harmful to those within the immediate vicinity however, it can also travel long distances and contribute to poor air quality in nearby communities. Eco-Friendly Wood burners are a low carbon alternative to fossil fuel stoves. They absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release it back when they burn as part of an enclosed CO2 cycle. This is less damaging to the environment than releasing CO2 into the air through gas, oil or electricity to provide heating at home. Modern stoves have a much higher efficiency than older models, which means you can heat your home with significantly less wood. Some models are so efficient that they emit almost no smoke, produce very little ash and use 70 percent less logs than traditional stoves. The newest EPA-certified stoves include additional safety features, including an automatic shutoff to prevent overheating. Eco-friendly stoves can help you save money on energy bills. The cost of electricity and gas seems to increase year on year. With wood-burning stoves, you can eliminate the middlemen and take control of your heating needs. You can also make use of recycled wood or salvaged wood to make your stove even more green. Many people gather wood that could otherwise be thrown away in building projects or disposed, although it is important to ensure that it is dry before you burn it. This is especially important for those who reside in a smoke control area where it is an offence to use wet or damp wood. The green aspect of a wood stove extends to the fact that it is a renewable source of energy. If you purchase your logs from a sustainable forest, one tree will be planted for every one that is cut down for use and helps reduce the destruction caused by fossil fuel production. It is important to remember that although wood burning stoves emit less carbon dioxide than other stoves, they still produce some fine particulate matter pollution. These are tiny, harmful particles that can penetrate deep into your lungs and are extremely harmful to your health. The independent standards body for heating appliances HETAS has been leading a campaign to improve wood stoves so that they minimize this kind of pollution to the maximum extent possible, and a number of manufacturers are working on eco-friendly wood burners that are compliant with the latest standards. Cooking When properly used when they are used properly, wood stoves are very safe. If you are not familiar with wood burning, it is best to hire an expert to examine your fireplace and ventilation systems to make sure they are operating correctly. Modern wood burners have a chimney and a firebox that are designed to draw in fresh air and let smoke out. The ventilation pipe and chimney work together to regulate the amount of creosote produced when burning wood. The buildup of creosote within the chimney could reduce efficiency and create a fire hazard, which is why it is crucial to keep your stove. The smell of burning wood and the crackle of the flames create an inviting ambience that will take you back to simpler times. A wood-burning stove can also provide an unmistakable flavor that can't be replicated with electric or gas stoves. The smokey aroma of roasted meats and hearty soups give dishes a distinctive and distinctive flavor that can't be replicated by other methods of cooking. It is also known that cooking on wood-burning stoves is more healthy than other forms of cooking. For example, if you roast meats or vegetables in your wood-burning stove, the heat generated by the flames helps to retain nutrients that could be lost when heating foods for long durations. Many people choose to use a wood burning stove in lieu of gas or electricity to heat their homes. It is a reliable method for heating that is especially useful during power outages or in areas where fossil fuels are scarce. Many people also find that a wood stove could be a cheaper option to heat their home, as opposed to installing and purchasing a traditional gas or electric stove. It is also more environmentally friendly because wood is a renewable fuel source and emits less CO2 into the air when it is gathered and burned correctly.