Are you thinking of installing a new heating system in your home this winter? If you are, you may be starting to realize that there are a lot of home heating options available. This may raise questions about which type of heating system is best for you in regards to efficiency, design, safety, and ease of use. All of these questions are daunting, and to be honest, all types of heating systems have strengths and weaknesses. At Northeastern Fireplace & Design, we carry and install a wide variety of heating appliances. One appliance that is gaining popularity is wood stoves. Wood stoves are perfect for people that want the ambiance associated with a traditional wood fire, but desire the efficiency of a modern heating appliance.
What are my installation options with a wood stove?
Since wood stoves are stand-alone units, they tend to have more placement options within your home. Fireplaces, however, are built into the home’s framework. This also means that installation of a wood stove is usually easier and cheaper than installing a fireplace. At Northeastern Fireplace & Design, our Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) certified chimney technicians can walk you through all the placement and installation options available to you. Although there are a lot of “do-it-yourself” tutorials and videos online, wood stove installation can be tricky. Also, different rules related to local building codes and tax rebates require a CSIA-certified technician to install your unit. Therefore, the safest and easiest way to have a wood stove installed is to have a certified technician put it in.
How efficient are wood stoves?
An EPA-certified wood stove has much higher heating efficiency than other wood-burning heating systems. This is because EPA-certified wood stoves are designed with a secondary combustion chamber. This allows for longer and hotter fires while using the same amount of fuel as a fireplace or older stove. EPA-certified wood stoves also direct more heat outside of the firebox. With fireplaces, most of the heat is lost up and out of your chimney.
Do wood stoves burn cleaner and safer?
An EPA-certified wood stove is the best option for producing a clean burning fire. EPA-certified wood stoves have better insulation and superior airflow mechanisms compared to other wood-burning heating options. This means that EPA-certified stoves get hot enough to burn off gases and particles inside the stove instead of releasing them into the surrounding environment. This means that EPA-certified wood stoves smoke very little and have significantly less potential for creosote build up. In addition, there is less potential for a chimney fire. However, this does not mean that you should skip your annual chimney inspection from a CSIA-certified chimney sweep. Annual heating and vent check-ups are still very important to check for fire and safety hazards.
If you love traditional wood fires, but desire heating efficiency, Northeastern Fireplace & Design has a wide variety of wood stove options available to you. If you have any questions, please call us today at (518) 767-9314, contact us online, or stop by our showroom to talk to a wood stove specialist today!