choosing a wood stove

So you might be considering a wood stove to heat your house. Assuming you have an abundant source of wood, it is a reliable and satisfying source of heat for your home since it does not rely on electricity to operate as does many wood pellet stove or liquid fossil fuel furnaces. (oil or gas)Also, it is one of the cleanest ways to heat your house using a consumable fuel source.

Contrary to popular belief, burning wood does not add new greenhouse gases to the atmosphere as the CO2 that is released from the combustion process is the same quantity of CO2 that would otherwise be released by wood decomposition if the tree where allowed to rot on the forest floor.

There are many factors to consider when choosing a stove: colour, style, pedestal or legs, size etc. The most important factor is to properly size your wood appliance to make sure it delivers the most efficient heat, cleanest burning and not to either overheat or underheat your home.

The most common error that people make when choosing a stove is to buy one that is too big for the area that it is going to heat. Having too big a stove is actually a bigger problem than too small a stove for the following reasons. With a stove too big, you will need to make a smaller fire to prevent overheating the house. By doing this, efficiency is sacrificed since the firebox temperature is not raised high enough to ensure complete combustion creating a potentially dangerous buildup in the chimney and offering sporadic comfort. A stove too small will mean more frequent refueling, potential overheating of stove or chimney if overfired and insufficient heat for the house. The up-side to undersizing is that combustion efficiency is increased and there is a reduced amount of deposits in the chimney. The ideal size of appliance offers adequate heating, low maintenance and minimal chance of overheating/underheating.

To get more detailed info on heating with wood, download this free publication from CMHC. It is a wealth of information to help you choose your wood burning appliance.







http://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/b2c/catalog/z_getpdf.jsp?pdfkey=2367912238736807498957944372812017562117778745946569768/66067.pdf