Why a Wood Burning Stove Should Be Properly Sized and Installed
Wood stoves are a great, clean way to heat your home. However wood stoves need to be installed and sized correctly for maximum efficiency.
Do not open and shut the wood stove door frequently. This creates a vortex which pulls smoke and unburned volatile compounds into the room.
Energy Efficiency
A wood burning stove utilizes radiant heat to warm your home, instead of relying on hot air that is blown in through the home's ventilation system. This is a more efficient method of heating because it produces massive warmth that radiates out from all sides of the stove, warming the entire house rather than only a central area.
Modern wood stoves have been designed to be as efficient as possible. Manufacturers must meet stricter regulations regarding emissions and the most efficient method to do 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 more than 70%, which means that a significant portion of the heat generated is actually utilized to heat your home instead of going up the chimney.
A wood burner can also be an energy source that is completely independent. A wood burner can provide warmth during a power outage or gas shortage, as long as you have enough logs stored.
Wood burning stoves also provide a more reliable heating option than other heaters, since they don't depend on electricity or oil to run. This is especially important in remote areas where other sources of energy could be disrupted for prolonged periods of time.
A quality log burner should operate at a high efficiency of around 80, meaning that a large percentage of the heat produced is used to warm your home. This is a significant improvement over older stoves that typically operated at less than 20% efficiency and is one of the reasons why a new stove would be a wise investment.
A catalytic wood burning stove will re-burn any unburned gas and smoke that escape the firebox via secondary combustion, further improving efficiency. However, non-catalytic stoves are becoming more popular because they don't require expensive catalyst technology to achieve the same levels of efficiency and are considerably less expensive to purchase. This is particularly beneficial for those who want to reduce their carbon footprint and save on fuel costs.
Clean Burning
Wood stoves burn wood to generate heat however, they also release particles and gases into the air. This can result in poor air quality in certain areas and affect our health. It is essential to use clean-burning technology in your wood stove.
If you have a brand modern, contemporary wood stove equipped with Clean Burn technology, it drastically reduces dust and particulate emissions. This not only makes your home healthier, but it can also save you money since you can get more heating for every log.
Today's ECO design stoves meet one of the most stringent requirements in the world with regards to particle emissions - they are permitted to emit no more than 5 grams per kilo of wood used. We at Jotul have bigger goals. We want to provide you with the most pleasant climate and health. We've come up with a solution that is technological that means that our wood stoves have less than half of the statutory requirement and in some instances less than 1 grams!
Modern stoves have many ways to optimize wood combustion. It is crucial to keep track of the air flow and then only slow the airflow when the fire is hot and stable - else you could end up killing the fire.
Cleaner stoves also produce less creosote. It is a sticky substance that forms on the inside of the chimney and can be a serious fire danger. The less creosote produced will also help you save time and money on your chimney sweeping expenses.
The pre-heated air in our new wood stoves is a key element in their performance to the highest level. This is an additional level of air which is added above the fuel load, and helps ensure that all particles are ignited. This is responsible for a significant portion of the performance that is superior in our new stoves, including the Defra-approved Hi-Flame Graphite 5
It is essential to make sure that your wood stove is used only in smoke control zones (or exempt areas) in areas that permit to use it. Smoke from wood stoves is not only dangerous for those in the immediate area however, it can also travel long distances and contribute to poor air quality in neighboring communities.
Eco-Friendly
Wood burners offer a low-carbon alternative to stoves that burn fossil fuels. They absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release it back when they burn as part of a closed CO2 cycle. This process is much less harmful to the environment than emitting carbon dioxide into air when you use oil, gas or electricity for home heating.
A modern stove has a greater efficiency than earlier models, meaning that you can heat your home with far less firewood. Certain models are so efficient that they emit little smoke, produce less ash and use 70 percent less wood than traditional stoves. Modern EPA certified stoves also have safety features such as an automatic shut-off to prevent overheating.
As well as being a good source of heat eco-friendly stoves are also an excellent way to save money on your energy bills. The price of electricity and gas appears to rise year after year, and with a wood burning stove you can eliminate the middlemen and be in charge of your heating requirements.
You can also make use of recycled wood or salvaged wood to make your stove more environmentally friendly. Many people salvage wood from construction projects that would otherwise be thrown away or disposed of. However, it's essential to ensure that it is completely dry prior to burning. This is especially important if you reside in a smoke control zone where it's a criminal offence to use damp or wet wood.
The eco-friendly aspect of a wood-burning stove is reflected in the fact that it is a renewable source of energy. If you purchase your logs from sustainable forests One tree is planted for every tree cut down for use. This helps to stop the destruction of forests caused by fossil fuel production.
It is important to remember that even though wood-burning stoves produce less emissions than other stoves, they still produce some fine particulate pollution. These small, toxic particles can reach deep into the lungs, and could be extremely damaging 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 lot of manufacturers are creating eco-friendly wood burners that are compliant with the latest standards.
Cooking
Wood stoves are safe when used correctly. However, if you're not familiar with wood burning, it's best to consult a professional to inspect your fireplace and ventilation system to make sure they're working properly. Modern wood burners come with a chimney and a firebox that are designed to draw in fresh air and release smoke. The ventilation pipe and chimney work together to limit the amount of creosote produced when burning wood. Creosote accumulation in the chimney can result in a reduction in effectiveness and even a fire hazard It is therefore essential to keep your stove clean.
The smell of burning wood and the crackle of the flames create a cozy atmosphere that can transport you back to simpler times. A wood-burning stove also provides a unique taste that can't be replicated with electric or gas stoves. The smoky smell of roasted meats and hearty soups give meals a distinct and memorable taste that cannot be achieved with other forms of cooking.
It is also known that cooking on a wood-burning stove is healthier than any other form of cooking. The heat from the flames can help preserve nutrients when you cook meats or vegetables in your wood-burning oven.
Many people prefer using a wood-burning stove as an alternative to electricity or gas to heat their homes. It's a reliable method of heating that's particularly useful during power outages or in regions that aren't able to access fossil fuels. modern wood burning stove find that a wood stove can be a more affordable way to heat their home, as opposed to purchasing an gas or electric stove. It is also green, as wood is a renewable resource and when harvested and burned responsibly, it releases less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than fossil fuels.