Why a Wood Burning Stove Should Be Properly Sized and Installed
Wood stoves are a fantastic method of providing affordable, clean heat for your home. However, a wood stove needs to be installed and sized correctly to maximize efficiency.
Be careful not to open and close the door to the wood stove too frequently as this creates an air-tight seal that draws smoke and unburnt volatile compounds back into the room.
Energy Efficiency
A wood-burning stove makes use of radiant heat to warm your home instead of relying on hot air that is carried in by the home's ventilation system. This is a better way to heat your home as the radiant heat radiates out from all sides.
Modern wood stoves are designed to be as efficient as they can. Manufacturers are required to meet increasingly stringent requirements regarding emissions and the most effective way to do this is by making their stoves more efficient. The majority of our stoves (both DEFRA approved and EPA certified) have efficiency ratings of over 70%, which means that a significant portion of the heat produced is used to heat your home instead of being lost to the chimney.
wood burning stove near me is also 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 stored logs.
Wood burning stoves are also an energy source that is more reliable over other heaters, as they don't require oil or electricity to operate. This is especially true in remote regions where other sources of energy could be interrupted over a long period of time.
A good quality log burner will operate at a high efficiency of around 80 which means that a substantial percentage of the heat that is produced is used to heat your home. This is an enormous improvement over older stoves which generally operated at less than 20% efficiency and is one of the main reasons why a new stove would be a good investment.
A catalytic wood stove can re-burn the unburned gasses and smoke that escapes the firebox via secondary combustion to further improve efficiency. However non-catalytic stoves are becoming increasingly popular since they don't require costly catalyst technology to attain similar efficiency and can be considerably cheaper to purchase. This is especially beneficial for those looking to reduce their carbon footprint and save on fuel costs.
Clean Burning
A wood stove is a device that burns wood to generate heat, but it also releases particles and gases into the atmosphere. This can lead to poor air quality in some regions and impact our health. It is important to use clean-burning technology in your wood stove.
When you have a modern, brand new wood stove equipped with Clean Burn technology, it dramatically reduces the amount of airborne dust and particulate emissions. This will not just make your home healthier and cleaner, but also save money since you get more heat from each log.
Today's ECO design stoves meet one of the strictest requirements in the world with regards to particle emissions - they are permitted to emit no more than 5 grams per kilo of wood used. At Jotul, we have far higher ambitions - we want to give you the very top quality when it comes to the environment and your health. We've created a technological solution that means that our wood stoves have less than half the statutory requirement - and in some cases less than 1 gram!
A modern stove has many ways to improve the combustion of wood. It is essential to monitor the flow of air and then only slow the airflow when the fire has become hot and established - otherwise you could end up killing the fire.
Cleaner burning stoves produce less creosote. This sticky substance can create serious fire hazards. The lower production of creosote can also save you time and money on your chimney sweeping costs.
Our wood stoves' superior performance is also a result of the pre-heated secondary air. This is an additional layer of air which is added above the fuel load and helps to ensure that all particles are completely combusted. This is responsible for a large portion of the superior performance in our latest stoves, such as the Defra-approved Hi-Flame Graphite 5
Always ensure that you only use your wood stove in areas where it is legal. Smoke from wood stoves isn't only hazardous to those who live in the immediate vicinity however, it can also travel long distances and cause poor air quality for communities living in the vicinity.
Eco-Friendly
Wood burners provide a low-carbon alternative to stoves that burn fossil fuels. As part of the closed carbon cycle trees absorb CO2 from air and release it when they are burnt. This process is less damaging to the environment than releasing CO2 into the air through oil, gas, or electricity for heating at home.
A modern stove has 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 release virtually no smoke, generate less ash, and require 70 percent less logs than traditional stoves. The newest EPA-certified stoves include additional safety features, such as an automatic shutoff that prevents overheating.
Eco-friendly stoves can aid in saving money on energy bills. Gas and electricity prices seem to be increasing each year. With a wood-burning stove, you can take control of your heating requirements and eliminate the middlemen.
You can also make use of reclaimed wood or salvaged wood to make your stove more environmentally friendly. Many people collect wood that could otherwise be discarded from building projects or dumped in the garbage, but it is crucial to ensure that it is dry before you burn it. This is especially important for those who reside in a smoke control zone where it's a criminal offence to use wet or damp wood.
Wood burning stoves are environmentally green because they utilize renewable energy sources. If you purchase your logs from sustainable forests there is a tree planted for every tree that is cut down to be used. This helps in reducing the destruction of forests caused by fossil fuel production.
Although wood burning stoves produce less emissions than other stoves, they do emit fine particulate pollutants. These are tiny, harmful particles that can travel deep into your lungs and can be extremely dangerous to your health. The independent standards body for heating appliances HETAS has led a campaign to improve wood stoves in order that they can reduce this kind of pollution as much as is possible and a variety of manufacturers are working on eco-friendly wood burners that are compliant with the latest standards.
Cooking
Wood stoves are safe if employed correctly. If you're not experienced with wood burning, it's best to get an expert to examine your fireplace and ventilation systems to ensure they are operating properly. Modern wood burners come with chimneys and fireboxes that are designed to draw fresh air in and then release smoke. The chimney and the ventilation pipe work to control the amount of creosote (a volatile organic compound) produced when wood is burned. The buildup of creosote within the chimney can reduce efficiency and cause a fire hazard, so it is crucial to keep your stove.
The scent of burning wood and the crackle of the flames create a warm ambience that will take you back to simpler times. In addition, cooking with wood burning stoves adds an unique flavor that can't be replicated using electric or gas stoves. The smoky taste of roasted meats, and hearty soups make meals unique and memorable taste that cannot be achieved with other cooking methods.
It is also well-known that cooking on wood-burning stoves is more healthy than other forms of cooking. For example, if you roast vegetables or meats in your wood-burning stove, the heat from the flames can help keep nutrients that are lost when cooking foods for extended periods of time.
Many people opt to use a wood-burning stove in lieu of gas or electricity to heat their homes. It's a reliable form of heating that's particularly helpful during power outages and in areas where there is a shortage of fossil fuels. Furthermore, the majority of people are finding that a wood stove is the most cost-effective method to heat their homes, as opposed to buying and installing a conventional electric or gas stove. It is also green because wood is a renewable resource and when harvested and burned responsibly, it releases less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than fossil fuels.