Wood is considered as an ideal source of heating up the house, and in some cases, a boiler is attached to heat up the water, as it is much cheaper than other scarce fossil fuels. It is a renewable energy source that can to a large extent reduce the pressure on the demand for the fossil fuels. Firewood for heating up homes is more feasible and the heat it produces is of a better quality than the heat generated by convection by other electrical room heaters. Wood heaters are capable of heating a well-designed house with just 1.5 cords of firewood a year, estimates show.
What is a wood burning stove?
A wood burning stove refers to a solid iron, cast or steel, an appliance with a closed fire chamber and a fire brick base that is provided with an adjustable air control and ventilating stove pipes and a chimney. This heating appliance is capable of burning wood and biomass fuel from wood such as wood pellets. The first such stove was patented in Strasbourg in 1557. In modern times, you have wood heaters that are engineered to function as multi-fuel stoves.
Why should you use wood burning stoves?
Wood heaters or stoves that burn wood to produce heat is definitely advantageous for you because of the following reasons.
- It helps you save money: Firewood is cheaper than the other fuels and even the cost of electricity. Nowadays you have the advanced models of certified wood stoves that are at least 60- 70% more efficient than the conventional stoves, which guarantees a substantial reduction in not only electricity cost and the cost of other fossil fuels, but, also on the cost of buying firewood.
- It is a smart investment: Firewood is a renewable resource, the costs are not subject to fluctuations as is the case with fossil fuel. Similarly, even factors like storms, power cuts, and other extraneous factors do not disrupt the functioning of the wood heaters, and you can be assured of energy distribution all the times.
- Increased comfort: Though most of the hot air systems or electrical heaters come with adjustable thermostats, it calls for the continuous altering of temperatures to make yourself comfortable. But, the radiant heat of the wood heater is better in quality than the convection heat produced by the electrical heaters. You can also heat up the areas of the house you want to a much higher temperature than it is possible with a thermostat heater.
- You are not polluting the environment: By using a wood heater, you are contributing to the green environment as the modern technologies, advanced wood heaters emit only 2-4g/h which is far below the regulated emission limits permissible which are around 7.5g/h. It is good news for wood stove users that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, and xylene are relatively small in the exhaust of modern wood heaters.
- Beautiful stoves that serve as the focal point: The modern wood heaters are not only advanced in technology but, they are also made to look attractive, which makes them a focal point, wherever they are placed.
- It makes Zone heating possible: The wood heaters help you in heating up the areas you want and by letting the other regions cool, which is not feasible in the case of built-in heating systems. Therefore, you are again able to cut energy costs by not wasting energy in heating up the areas you do not want to heat up.
Wood Heater
Having mentioned the merits of using wood heaters, it would not be fair to conclude without mentioning that heating with wood stoves involves a fair bit of mental and physical effort, and learning of special sets of skills. That is the reason it is not preferred by everyone despite the advantages it has to offer.
