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Proper insulation, storm windows, and weatherizing are your first steps in winter home energy conservation. These measures reduce the amount of heat necessary to keep your home warm. The less wood burned, the less pollution generated.
Wood-burning stoves can be a good choice for home heating if wood is properly air-dried and burned in an efficient, modern wood- burning stove; the heat from a cord of native hardwood can produce a lot of heat. Hard woods give off more heat when burned. Studies have shown that hardwoods, thoroughly dried for a year, have the best combustion efficiency and produce fewer pollutants and gases than softwoods. Most wood should be seasoned 6 to 9 months, preferably over the summer months. Wet wood reduces the overall heating efficiency since the cooling effect of the water prevents complete combustion. Wet wood ignites more slowly, it will go out more quickly, and it is more likely to smoke.
Softer woods can be used as kindling or for heating on warm days. Soft woods are not a good source of heat.
If you’re in the market for a new wood stove or fireplace insert, keep in mind that the cleanest burning stoves and fireplace inserts are EPA Certified Phase II. (Check the back for the appropriate label.) When making your purchase, also make sure you buy the right size stove for the area to be heated. Stoves are most efficient when they burn at a moderate rate.
To make existing, older fireplaces and wood-burning stoves more efficient:
A heat saving tube grate offers a means of increasing the efficiency of an existing fireplace. It is a grate made of U-shaped tubes that draw in cool air at the bottom and shoot heated air into the room from the top. Fans can be added to these grates and, although the fans raise the cost of these units, they significantly increase the heat output.
It is difficult to measure the efficiency of a fireplace since it is incorporated into the structure of the house. The better models of tube grates (particularly those which include an electric fan) will raise the efficiency of the fireplace to as much as 25%.
Another effective and expensive fireplace accessory is a whole new metal fireplace, which can be inserted into the old one. This is known as a fireplace insert. Some units come with electric blowers while others rely on natural convection to circulate the air. Because of the double wall, sheet metal construction and the natural convection of air, they efficiently transmit the heat from the firebox into the living quarters. It has been estimated that they will raise the efficiency of a fireplace to about 40%.
Use small amounts of kindling wood, cardboard and loose paper only to start a fire. When burned in large quantities they vaporize too fast, leading to excessive emissions and possibly to stove overheating.
Visit this EPA website (opens in a new window).
Sponsored by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality