The key to choosing a wood burning stove that will work well for you is to first be honest about your expectations and secondly understand what this technology can and cannot deliver. That way you have a chance that the two sides will meet harmoniously in the middle.
It's a simple fact of human nature that most of us feel drawn to the appearance and feeling of a real fire, and that's certainly a good enough reason to want one. But, as the very name suggests, a wood burning stove relies on wood. Wood that is bulky and heavy and has to be bought or cut, kept dry and physically brought to the burner (which itself will require periodic cleaning to remove ash).
Are you genuinely prepared for all this - it's not like flicking a switch to turn on gas or electric heating. The next thing to consider is what exactly do you want from your wood burner other than looking good as a focal point in your lounge?
The fact is that wood burning stoves can operate on many levels, from straightforward space heating, to providing complete hot water and central heating facilities, and even cooking with as oven and hob as seen on traditional kitchen ranges. Before you can progress much further you need to determine which features you actually want.
Another consideration to address early on is fuel type. This decision might be made for you depending on what you have access to, but otherwise you need to know that some burners can use most any kind of wood whereas others such as modern automatically fed wood burning boilers specifically need manufactured wood pellets graded to a certain size.
Finally, the heart of the matter: heat output. Whether you intend to heat a single room or run the main central heating, you need to estimate how much heat you need. This is calculated as square footage times 40 to arrive at a figure in Btu (British Thermal Units).
Taking a house with 900 square feet of floor space, the required nominal heat output would be 36,000 Btu. If you want the figure in kWh instead the conversion is 3,413 Btu = 1 kWh. For regions colder than say New England or (old) England then adjust the 40 constant up towards 50 and for warmer areas adjust down towards 30.
It is important when choosing a wood burner not to err on the side of over capacity. Buying a wood burning stove that is too powerful for your needs means that you won't be able to run it at full capacity where it is most efficient.
Running a wood burner below its nominal output results in increased fuel consumption, soot deposits, condensation in the flue and smaller, less attractive flames. The net result is extra cost and maintenance. You would be better to either try and exactly match your heat requirements or choose a slightly under powered burner and run it at full rate.
It's a simple fact of human nature that most of us feel drawn to the appearance and feeling of a real fire, and that's certainly a good enough reason to want one. But, as the very name suggests, a wood burning stove relies on wood. Wood that is bulky and heavy and has to be bought or cut, kept dry and physically brought to the burner (which itself will require periodic cleaning to remove ash).
Are you genuinely prepared for all this - it's not like flicking a switch to turn on gas or electric heating. The next thing to consider is what exactly do you want from your wood burner other than looking good as a focal point in your lounge?
The fact is that wood burning stoves can operate on many levels, from straightforward space heating, to providing complete hot water and central heating facilities, and even cooking with as oven and hob as seen on traditional kitchen ranges. Before you can progress much further you need to determine which features you actually want.
Another consideration to address early on is fuel type. This decision might be made for you depending on what you have access to, but otherwise you need to know that some burners can use most any kind of wood whereas others such as modern automatically fed wood burning boilers specifically need manufactured wood pellets graded to a certain size.
Finally, the heart of the matter: heat output. Whether you intend to heat a single room or run the main central heating, you need to estimate how much heat you need. This is calculated as square footage times 40 to arrive at a figure in Btu (British Thermal Units).
Taking a house with 900 square feet of floor space, the required nominal heat output would be 36,000 Btu. If you want the figure in kWh instead the conversion is 3,413 Btu = 1 kWh. For regions colder than say New England or (old) England then adjust the 40 constant up towards 50 and for warmer areas adjust down towards 30.
It is important when choosing a wood burner not to err on the side of over capacity. Buying a wood burning stove that is too powerful for your needs means that you won't be able to run it at full capacity where it is most efficient.
Running a wood burner below its nominal output results in increased fuel consumption, soot deposits, condensation in the flue and smaller, less attractive flames. The net result is extra cost and maintenance. You would be better to either try and exactly match your heat requirements or choose a slightly under powered burner and run it at full rate.
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