Why Choose a Wood Burning Stove? 23 Jan 09
This is part one of our wood burning stove installation saga and where better to start than why we decided to install a stove? Several of our reasons could also apply to an open fire, but others are unique benefits of wood burning stoves.
Why Have Any Kind of Fire?
Well the obvious answer is heat, but there’s more to it than that. Its an alternative to the already-present central heating system, giving us a way to use less oil and to heat just the room(s) that we use the most during the day, without wasting heat in bedrooms that are empty for hours.
Its also about appearances. Its not just that a nice fireplace can make a great feature in a room, there’s a psychological aspect to a roaring fire on a cold winter’s night that brings a comfort no hot radiator can match.
Of course, it also helps that there is a large chimney breast in our living room that was blocked off when I bought the house. Being too plain to have any real feature value of its own, the choices were either install a fire or remove the chimney breast altogether. Right from day one, the decision was always going to be to install a fire.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it’ll be somewhere for Ben to ‘post’ his letters to Santa. Having grown up in a house with a fire, I know this was always a special occurrence for me.
Why Burn Wood?
Wood is a both a renewable resource (more trees can be planted to replace any cut down for fuel) and abundantly available. Since starting down the wood burning stove path, I’ve encountered many people who never pay for wood instead being able to collect enough fallen wood and/or waste wood (from joinery businesses etc.) to keep their stoves burning brightly all winter long. Unfortunately, I haven’t found such a resource yet myself, however the wood we do buy comes from a local woodland management company where the firewood is a by-product of their other services.
Also, wood is a ‘carbon neutral’ fuel, which means that it only gives off as much carbon dioxide when its burnt as it absorbed during the tree’s life. What’s more, the same amount of carbon dioxide would be given off if that same wood was left to rot instead of being burnt.
Finally, wood is clean to handle and doesn’t give off large clouds of dust, like coal, when moving it around. I’d also like to mention here that well-seasoned logs can smell wonderful, but I’m not sure everyone would count that as a real benefit.
Why a Stove & Not an Open Fire?
The biggest benefit that stoves have over open fires is their far superior efficiency. Burning wood on an open fire achieves an efficiency of only 20-25%, whereas a modern efficient stove, burning the same type of wood, can achieve efficiency levels of over 75%. In other words, you get more heat from the same amount of fuel.
Many modern stoves also have ‘cleanburn’ systems that burn and generate heat from the gases given off by the burning wood, that would otherwise have escaped, unburnt, up the chimney. This is not only partly responsible for the great efficiency of stoves, but also results in fewer emissions and less soot. (more info on cleanburn systems)
Are There No Downsides?
Good wood burning stoves are not cheap! Its true that you get what you pay for though and open fireplaces aren’t cheap these days either. For both, you may need to have your chimney lined if, like us, you have an old chimney without a built-in clay liner. The flexible liner for our chimney cost nearly as much as the stove, so make sure you take this into consideration, as well as any installation fees.
I Want a Wood Burning Stove!
Now that you’re (hopefully) sold on the benefits of a wood burning stove, its time to choose which stove is right for you.
Posted by Nev in Going Green with tags central heating, eco-friendly, fire, oil, trees, winter, wood, wood burning stove
