Why Wood Burning Stove Can Be More Risky Than You Think

Why a Wood Burning Stove Should Be Properly Sized and Installed Wood stoves are an effective, eco-friendly method of heating your home. A wood stove must be installed and sized properly to ensure maximum efficiency. Do not open and shut the door to the wood stove frequently. This creates a vortex which pulls smoke and volatile compounds that have not been burned into the room. Energy Efficiency A wood burning stove uses 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 more efficient way to heat your home since the heat radiates out from every side of the. Modern wood stoves are designed to be as efficient as is possible. Manufacturers have to meet stricter emission standards and the best way to achieve this is to make their stoves more efficient in energy use. The majority of our stoves (both DEFRA approved and EPA certified) have official efficiency ratings of more than 70%, which means that a large portion of the heat that is produced is utilized to heat your home, rather than being lost to the chimney. Another advantage to using a wood burning stove is that it gives you a completely independent heat source. In contrast to electricity and gas it is possible for a wood burner to still provide you with warmth, even in the event of an outage of gas or electricity provided you have enough logs stored. Wood burning stoves are also an energy source that is more reliable than other types of heaters, as they don't require electricity or oil to operate. This is especially true in remote regions where other sources of energy could be interrupted over a long period of time. A top-quality log burner can provide heat to your home at an 80% efficiency. This is a huge improvement over older stoves which typically operated at less than 20 percent efficiency. This is one of the reasons a new stove is a smart investment. A catalytic wood stove can re-burn the unburned gasses and smoke that leaves the firebox through secondary combustion to further increase efficiency. However non-catalytic stoves are becoming increasingly common as they do not require costly catalyst technology to achieve the same levels of efficiency and are often much less expensive to purchase. This is particularly beneficial for those looking to save money on cost of fuel and reduce their carbon footprint. Clean Burning A wood stove burns wood and generates heat however it also releases particles and gases into the atmosphere. In some areas it can cause poor air quality, which impacts our health and well-being. It is essential to use clean-burning technology on your wood stove. When you have a modern, contemporary wood stove equipped with Clean Burn technology, it dramatically reduces the amount of airborne dust and particulate emissions. This will not only make your home healthier and cleaner, but also save money since you'll get more heat from each log. Today's ECO design stoves have one of the most strict standards in the world when it comes to emissions from particles – they are permitted to release not more than 5 grams per kilogram of wood that is burned. At Jotul we have greater goals – we want to give you the very highest quality in terms of the environment and your health. We've developed a technical solution which means that our wood stoves have less than half of the statutory requirement and in some instances less than 1 grams! A modern stove comes with a variety of ways to optimize the combustion of wood. It is important to monitor the airflow and then only slow the airflow once the fire is hot and established. Otherwise, you might kill the fire. Cleaner burning stoves produce less creosote. This sticky substance could cause serious fire dangers. The lower production of creosote can also save you time and money on chimney sweeping costs. The pre-heated tertiary air in our wood stoves is an additional factor in their top-level performance. This is an extra layer of air that is introduced over the fuel, and helps to ensure all particles are fully ignited. corner wood burning stove is responsible for a large portion of the outstanding performance of our latest stoves, like the Defra-approved Hi-Flame Graphite 5 You should always ensure that your wood stove is only used in smoke control zones (or exempt zones) in areas that permit to use it. Smoke from a wood stove is not only dangerous for those within the immediate vicinity however, it can also travel a long distance and contribute to poor air quality in neighboring communities. Eco-Friendly Wood burners offer a low-carbon alternative to stoves made of fossil fuels. They absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release it back when they are burnt as part of the closed CO2 cycle. This process is less harmful to the environment than releasing carbon dioxide into the air when using oil, gas or electricity to heat your home. Modern stoves are greater efficiency than earlier models, which means that you can heat your home with much less firewood. Some models are so efficient that they emit almost no smoke, produce minimal ash and require 70 percent less logs than traditional stoves. Newer EPA certified stoves also come with safety features like an automatic shut off to stop overheating. In addition to being a good source of heat, eco-friendly stoves are a great way to cut costs on your energy bills. The cost of electricity and gas seem to be rising every year. With a wood-burning stove, you can take control of your heating needs and cut out the middlemen. You can also use recycled or salvaged wood for your stove to make it more eco-friendly. Many people gather wood from construction projects that would otherwise be thrown away or dumped. However, it is crucial to ensure that the wood is completely dry before burning. This is particularly important for those who live in a smoke control zone where it's a criminal offence to use damp or wet wood. The eco-friendly aspect of a wood stove is reflected in the fact that it is a renewable source of energy. If you purchase your wood from a sustainable forest then one tree will be planted for every one that is felled to be used and helps counteract the deforestation caused by fossil fuel production. It is important to remember that even though wood-burning stoves emit less carbon dioxide than other stoves, they still emit fine particulate pollution. These are tiny, toxic particles that can travel deep into your lungs and can be extremely dangerous to your health. HETAS is an independent standards body for heating appliances, has led an effort to improve wood stoves to reduce this type of pollution as much as they can. A number of manufacturers have come up with eco-friendly wood-burning stoves that comply with the most recent standards. Cooking If used properly, wood stoves can be very safe. However, if you're not familiar with wood burning, you should to get a professional to check your fireplace and ventilation system to ensure that they are working correctly. Modern wood burners use chimneys and fireboxes to draw in air and release smoke. The chimney and ventilation pipe are used to control the amount of creosote (a volatile organic compound) that is produced when wood is burned. Creosote buildup in the chimney can cause a decrease in efficiency and create a fire risk, so it's important to maintain your stove. The crackle of the flame and the scent of burning wood create a warm atmosphere that can transport you back to simpler days. A wood-burning stove also provides an unique flavor that cannot be replicated with gas or electric stoves. The smoky flavor of roasted meats and hearty soups provide meals with a distinctive and unforgettable taste that cannot be achieved by other cooking methods. It is also widely known that cooking on wood-burning stoves is healthier than any other form of cooking. The heat generated by the flames can help preserve nutrients when you roast meats or vegetables in your wood-burning oven. Many people utilize a wood-burning stove to heat their homes instead of using gas or electricity. It's a reliable form of heating, which is particularly beneficial during power outages or in areas that aren't able to access fossil fuels. Additionally, most people find that wood stoves is the most cost-effective method to heat their homes, as opposed to purchasing and installing a traditional electric or gas stove. It is also more eco friendly because wood is a renewable resource and emits less CO2 to the air when it is gathered and burned correctly.