| |
Newsroom >
Home and Family
>
Home and Family
>
Don’t Waste the Warmth from a Wood Fire!
Don’t Waste the Warmth from a Wood Fire!
A wood fire is a cost effective and environmentally friendly way of warming your house but with an open fire most of the heat escapes up the chimney. The solution is to use a properly designed wood burning stove.
Sway,
Hampshire,
United Kingdom
(sardnews.org)
23/03/2012
Most people love a real wood fire. There's something magical about the heat and light from a wood fire that seems to nourish body, heart and soul.
However, what many people don't realise is that most of the heat from an open fire escapes straight up the chimney rather than warming your room. The wise solution is to install a good wood burning stove rather than an open fire, which is much more efficient. In practice, this means that the wood can be burnt much more slowly so your fuel will last longer whilst putting the heat into the room instead of up the chimney.
Fiona Bruce, of the New Forest Woodburning Centre in Hampshire, UK is an expert on wood burning stoves. She says, "A good wood burning stove is around 5 times more efficient than an open fire as it minimises heat loss up the chimney and controls the rate at which the wood fuel burns."
Fiona says, "This means that your wood fuel may last up to five times longer if you use a wood burning stove compared to an open fire. As well as being more efficient you're being environmentally friendly as you use less wood and reduce the amount of heat and carbon dioxide that escape into the atmosphere. Wood is a renewable and carbon-neutral fuel."
Fiona has some guidelines for sourcing your wood for burning. "Get your wood fuel from an ecologically sound source. There are plenty of good suppliers but check with them where their wood comes from. For example, tree surgeons generate loads of otherwise useless wood cuttings that make excellent fuel."
She also has advice on storing wood fuel. "Keep your wood store outdoors to allow the sap to dry out properly before you burn it. Let the sun and the wind do the hard work. Seasoning can take as little as one summer or more than a year. The drier your wood, the better it will burn, the more heat you'll get!"
Fiona's favourite wood burning stove is the Clearview. She says, "Clearview stoves are built so well that they will last for 30 years or more, and they are specifically designed for our temperate maritime climate. When parts do wear out, replacements are always easy to obtain and fit."
###
About New Forest Woodburning Centre
She says, “Clearview stoves are built so well that they will last for 30 years or more, and they are specifically designed for our temperate maritime climate. When parts do wear out, replacements are always easy to obtain and fit.”
|