Woodburning Stoves

Wood burning stoves are the most popular, flexible and economical wood heating option. They can be located almost anywhere there is enough space and where a chimney can be properly routed. A perfect installation has it located centrally in the main floor living area of the house and the flue pipe running straight up into the chimney. As it is defined as a space heater, it is intended to heat a space directly, unlike a central heating furnace, which supplies its heat to the house through a system of ducts. But because modern houses conserve energy more effectively than older houses and need less heat to stay warm, it is now possible to heat an average-size modern home with a single space heater, provided it is located in the main living area.

The heater should be located in the part of the house you want to be the warmest. This is usually the main floor area where kitchen, living and dining rooms are located and where families normally spend most of their time.

A basement is not a good location for effective space heating. Although the heated air from wood burning stoves does tend to rise to higher levels of the house, this movement is normally too slow and limited to provide comfort on the upper floor. Usually, in an effort to keep the main floor living spaces comfortably warm, the basement is overheated. This can render the basement quite uncomfortable, and may even damage the structure of the house if it’s made out of wood.

Correct wood stove sizing is important because a too large one for the heat demand of the space will be operated with slow, smoldering fires much of the time to avoid overheating the room, and an undersized one can be damaged by frequent over-firing to keep up with heat demand.

The bottom and rear of all new wood burning stoves are shielded to prevent overheating of the floor and to permit close clearances to combustible walls. The more shielded one is, the more of its heat is delivered to the room by warm air convection than by direct radiation from the stove surfaces.

Pellet Burners

Another type of alternative heating stove is the pellet burning stove. These are clean burning and dust free. This will allow you to burn in the stove without the worry of your home becoming full of soot. Also, they do not provide any harmful toxins to the air. As an added bonus, they do not smell at all. Pellet burning stoves are easy to operate as all you need to do is to pour the pellets into the stove and then light them. What is a pellet, you ask? They are not actually pellets but they are recycled sawdust or wood shavings. They can be made of walnut or peanut shells. They are then ground up and compressed into small pellets. They are generally sold in forty pound bags.

If you do go with the alternative heating stove that uses pellets, you will need to keep a stock of them on hand. It will cost you about $150 to $200 per ton (about fifty bags of pellets) During the average winter, you could use up to one to three tons of pellets. While this seems like a lot, it is actually much less than what the average home spends on heating bills during winter months.

There are some drawbacks to these alternative heating stoves. The pellet stoves will need some electricity to run. This can be a drawback if and when the power goes out. In this case, it is very necessary for you to carefully consider this choice (back up systems now exist where a battery is used to light the pellet during a power outage). On the good side, you can control the amount of heat that the stove produces because of this electric factor. Yet, they do produce quite a bit of creosote. You’ll need to insure that the chimney is kept clean and cleaned frequently if you plan to use this type of alternative heating stove.

Whether you go with a wood or a pellet burning heating stove, you’ll find that it is quite natural and enjoyable to have. And, with the ever rising cost of energy bills, you’ll be happy that you have a better way to heat your home. Today’s stoves burn much cleaner than older models. They are easy to use and are better for the environment than any type of fuel burning system such as a gas, propane or oil furnace. They are better for the environment and better for your pocket book. An alternative heating stove could be the best choice for your home.

We supply and/or install Wood Burning Stoves and Pellet Burners

Energy Saving Systems, 63 Carncullagh Road, Stranocum, Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, BT53 8DE
Phone: 028 2074 2996