Is Wood Burning Stove As Crucial As Everyone Says?
Why portable wood stove Burning Stove Should Be Properly Sized and Installed Wood stoves are a great option to provide efficient, cost-effective heating for your home. However wood stoves need to be properly sized and installed to maximize efficiency. Be careful not to open and close the wood stove door 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 being blown in through the home's ventilation system. This is a more effective way to heat your home, as the radiant heat radiates out from all sides. Modern wood stoves are designed to be as efficient as possible. Manufacturers are having to meet increasingly stringent requirements with regards to emissions and the best way to achieve this is by making their stoves more efficient. 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 that is produced is utilized to heat your home, rather than being lost to the chimney. A wood burner can also be a source of heat that is completely independent. A wood burner can provide warmth during a power outage or gas shortage, if you have enough logs stored. Wood burning stoves are also more reliable than other forms of heating since they don't rely on oil or electricity to function. This is especially important in remote regions where other sources of energy could be interrupted over a long time. A high-quality log burner will operate at a rate of around 80% efficiency which means that a significant percentage of the heat produced is used to warm your home. This is an enormous improvement over older stoves which typically operated at less than 20% efficiency. This is one of the main reasons why a new stove is a good investment. A catalytic wood stove will burn the gasses that are not burned and smoke that escapes the firebox through secondary combustion to further increase efficiency. However non-catalytic stoves are becoming more popular because they don't require expensive catalyst technology to attain similar levels of efficiency and are often much less expensive to purchase. This is especially beneficial for those looking to save money on their fuel costs and reduce their carbon footprint. Clean Burning Wood stoves burn wood to generate heat, but they also release particulates and gasses into the air. This can lead to poor air quality in some regions and impact our health. This is why it's crucial to use clean burning technology in your wood burner. If you have a brand modern, brand new wood stove equipped with Clean Burn technology, it significantly reduces dust and particulate emission. This is not only a way to make your home healthier and comfortable, but it could also save you money as you get more heat for each log. Today's ECO design stoves meet one of the strictest requirements in the world with regards to particle emissions. They are allowed to release not more than 5 grams per kilogram of wood burned. At Jotul, we have far more ambitious goals – we'd like to give you the very best when it comes to climate and your health. We have created an option that allows our wood stoves to emit less than half the legal requirements – in some cases, even less than one gram! A modern stove has many ways to improve the combustion of the wood. It is important to monitor the air flow and slow down the airflow after the fire is hot and stable – else you could end up killing the fire. Cleaner burning stoves also produce less creosote, which is a sticky substance that forms on the inside of the chimney and can pose a serious fire hazard. Reduced creosote production can also reduce time and cost in chimney sweeping. The pre-heated tertiary atmosphere in our wood stoves is another key factor in their superior performance. This is an additional layer of air which is introduced above the fuel load, and helps ensure that all particles are completely ignited. This feature is responsible for a significant portion of the superior performance found in our latest stoves, such as the Defra approved Hi-Flame Graphite 5. You must make sure that your wood stove is only used 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 a long distance and contribute to poor air quality in neighbouring communities. Eco-Friendly Wood burners provide a low-carbon alternative to stoves that burn fossil fuels. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release it back when they burn as part of a closed CO2 cycle. This process is far less damaging to the environment than release carbon dioxide into the air when using gas, oil or electricity for home heating. Modern stoves are more efficient than previous models. This means you can heat up your home using less firewood. Certain models are so efficient they emit little smoke, create less ash and use 70% less wood than traditional stoves. Newer EPA certified stoves also come with safety features, such as an automatic shut-off to avoid overheating. Eco-friendly stoves can also help you save money on your energy bills. The price of electricity and gas seems to rise year after year and with a wood-burning stove, you can eliminate the middlemen and take control of your own heating needs. You can also use reclaimed or salvaged wood for your stove to make it even more environmentally friendly. Many people salvage wood from construction projects that would otherwise be thrown out or disposed of. But, it's crucial to ensure that the wood is completely dry prior to burning. This is especially crucial for those who live in a smoke control zone where it's an offence to use wet or damp wood. Wood burning stoves are ecologically sustainable because they make use of renewable energy sources. If you purchase your wood from a sustainable forest, then one tree will be planted for every one that is felled for use which helps counteract the deforestation caused by fossil fuel production. Although wood burning stoves produce less emissions than other stoves, they produce fine particulate pollution. These small, toxic particles can get deep into the lungs, and could be extremely damaging to your health. The independent standards body for heating appliances HETAS has led an effort to improve wood stoves in order that they reduce this type of pollution to the maximum extent possible, and a number of manufacturers are creating eco-friendly wood burners that are compliant with the latest standards. Cooking When used correctly, wood stoves can be extremely safe. If you're not familiar with wood burning it is best to get a professional to check your ventilation and fireplace systems to ensure that they are operating properly. Modern wood burners include chimneys and fireboxes that work together to draw fresh air in and release smoke. The ventilation pipe and chimney work to control the amount of creosote (a volatile organic compound) that is created when wood burns. The buildup of creosote within the chimney can reduce efficiency and create a fire risk, so it is essential 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. A wood-burning stove also adds a unique taste that can't be replicated by gas or electric stoves. The smoky aroma of roasted meats and hearty soups gives meals a distinctive and memorable flavor that cannot be replicated by other methods of cooking. Cooking on a wood-burning stove is also known to be healthier than other forms of cooking. For example, if you roast vegetables or meats in your wood-burning stove, the heat of the flames helps preserve nutrients that can be lost when cooking foods for long durations. Many people choose to use a wood burning stove as an alternative to using electricity or gas to heat their homes. It's a reliable form of heating, which is particularly helpful during power outages or in regions with limited access to fossil fuels. Additionally, most people are finding that wood stoves is an economical way to heat their homes than buying and installing a traditional gas or electric stove. It is also more eco sustainable as wood is a renewable source and emits less CO2 into the air when it is gathered and burned correctly.