Wood burning stoves became popular in the late 1970’s when the “Energy Crisis” was at its peak. Wood stoves have changed over the years through innovation and due to regulations but are still to this day an efficient source of heat. I have heated my home for over 40 years with a wood stove and enjoy the warm comfortable heat and the cost savings that is an additional (and usually the primary) benefit.
Can I heat my whole house with a wood burning stove? The answer is yes, if properly sized for the home and placed in the proper location within the home, a wood stove is capable of heating an entire home. There are some caveats to this answer as some homes are not ideally set up to be heated with a single wood stove, but many are. Let’s look at what makes a home ideal for a wood stove installation.
Heating A Home
A typical home is heated with a forced air furnace. Since the heat is “pushed” out of the furnace by a large fan, the furnace can be located anywhere in the home. Some wood stoves are designed to work as a furnace and have a blower that pushes the heat through the duct work to all rooms of the home.
These wood stoves can even replace a furnace if the furnace is in an accessible location such as a utility room or basement. The stove needs to be located where wood can be loaded into it easily and possibly even stored for a day or more which allows the exterior of the wood to dry properly.
Most wood burning stoves are designed to be installed in a room that is a central gathering room of a home such as a family room or living room. They are built aesthetically to be a centerpiece to the room and usually have glass doors so the fire can be enjoyed while providing heat to the home.
These wood burners will generally have a blower that pushes the heat away from the stove but this is only efficient to about 30-40 feet from the stove without assistance from additional ductwork or other factors.
It helps if the room where the wood stove is located is centrally located in the home, but this may not be the case. If the home is a long ranch style home the far ends of the home will be difficult to heat no matter where the stove is located. If the home is a multi story home, the lower the stove is located in the structure the better. The heat will naturally rise to the higher rooms if there is a path for the air to flow upward.
The Best Situation
When purchasing a stove, the best situation would be to find a stove that can be used to force the air into the cool air return already installed in your home. If the hot air can be moved into the cool air return of your homes’ heating system, the furnace can then be used as an “air handler” for the wood stove heat.
The existing furnace fan can pull hot air from the wood stove and then push this air to the other rooms of the home. Ideally the fan would be programmed to run when the stove is hot enough (at a pre-set high temperature) and shut off when the stove drops below a preset low temperature. The fan should also run at a lower speed than as it ran for the furnace heat. This is because the constant heat from the stove is generally lower than the intense heat produced from a furnace fire box.
This may sound very technical but a qualified HVAC installation company can assist in the installation and set up of a very efficient alternate heating system. A good wood stove installation company may also assist in finding the right wood stove to fit the home you have and the requirements you are looking for.
Chimneys
The chimney is a critical part of the wood stove installation. The chimney exhausts the spent air from the stove firebox into the air outside the home in the form of CO2 and other particles. The placement of the chimney is an important consideration when installing a wood stove system. The chimney must have proper clearances to all walls, ceilings and roof materials. It also needs to be routed in as straight a line, upward as possible.
There are also several types of chimneys that can be installed. Each has its advantages in performance and cost and needs to be weighed out as to which is best for your situation. The factor we are most looking at is the location of the stove. If the stove is to be centrally located in the home, can the chimney be installed from the stove to the roof in a safe and practical manner?
Again this is where a professional stove installation company can provide guidance as to the best location and route of a chimney. One of the chimney options may be an existing masonry chimney for an existing fireplace. A wood stove insert is an option in this circumstance.
I recommend having the masonry chimney inspected by a chimney expert to make sure the flue is clean and intact. Typically a fireplace is not used every day in the winter as a wood stove would be. The constant use of a wood stove requires a chimney be clean and free of cracks or blockages in case of a chimney fire.
How Most Wood Stoves Heat
If a wood stove is not connected to the ductwork of a home in some way, it will still heat the area where it is located well. A wood burning stove is typically constructed from steel, cast iron or soapstone and is designed to hold and radiate heat. Each of these materials absorbs the heat, holds the heat created in the firebox, and slowly releases the heat into the room. This is the beauty of a wood stove.
A furnace on the other hand is generally only warm to the touch on the outside when burning. The gas flame quickly heats the firebox which in turn transfers the heat to the ductwork. The large amount of air flow is quickly sent to all areas of the home almost instantaneously.
A wood stove on the other hand takes an hour or more to be brought up to temperature of 300 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. The stove then holds that heat for hours even after the fire burns down. This allows for a long lasting, consistent heat that is generally dryer than a furnace. That is why most homes with a wood stove need additional humidification in the winter months.
For years, we had a cast iron pot filled with water, setting on top of the wood stove all winter long. Later, I added a humidifier to the ductwork that added moisture automatically when the duct fan was on. This raised the humidity level of the home to a comfortable, consistent level.
Size Matters
Todays’ wood stoves are designed to heat a specific size home. Finding a stove that will heat the square footage of your home is important. Trying to heat your home with a stove that is too small will result in cold areas in your home and you may be tempted to run the stove hotter than it is designed to burn.
Purchasing a stove that is too large will result in having to burn the stove too cool. Bigger is not always better! Burning a stove too cool will result in damaging the catalytic device or in non-catalytic stoves, having to clean the non-catalytic plates more than necessary or worse, a fire due to clogging of the device.
Burning a stove too cool results in excess creosote build up in the chimney. Creosote build up is a cause of chimney fires and is dangerous. Picking a stove that is sized for your home makes your stove efficient and safe.
Conclusion
If your goal is to save money by heating with firewood then purchasing a wood stove is an excellent way to save money while heating your home. Before you purchase any stove, verify that you have a consistent source of reasonably priced firewood. If you don’t know where to find firewood see my article on “The Best Places to Find Local Firewood”.
If you just want a better, warmer heat source in your home, a wood stove will also fill the bill and be a warm source of heat. Just make sure you are picking a stove that is the correct size for your home. Make sure you have a path and a plan for the chimney to be installed. If you are not comfortable installing a wood stove yourself, locate a reputable local wood stove company and have them come up with a plan for your wood stove and installation.
Additional Questions
What is the ideal moisture content for firewood? The ideal moisture content for firewood is 15% – 20% moisture. See my article to find out why this is the ideal moisture content and what can affect that number.
How much wood will a wood burning stove burn in a season? Many factors affect this but a typical indoor wood stove will burn three to six cords of wood per season heating a typical home. The factors include the size of the home, the type of wood, and the type of stove you are using. The article goes in depth to these and other issues that determine the amount of wood a wood stove burns per season.