As manufacturers of Ecodesign Ready wood burning stoves, we have already invested significant resources in making a range of stoves that provide a high level of efficiency, to help towards a cleaner, greener environment. But is there anything YOU can do to make your stove EVEN more efficient?
The simple answer is YES!
Whilst you won’t be able to alter the inherent design of a stove, or alter it’s official efficiency levels, there are a number of things you can do, to ensure you are heating a room in the most efficient way possible.
While a stove maybe highly efficient, it’s ultimately the end user who can decide how efficient it is at point of use. For example, if two identical Ecodesign Ready stoves are heating a room, one has correctly seasoned wood, the other is burning wet wood, then the efficiency levels will be very different.
We have already spoken at length about the burning of wet wood vs seasoned wood. In this article we will look at other elements, apart from correctly seasoned wood, which can help ensure you’re keeping warm in the most efficient way possible.
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- Protect your chimney from the wind
Protecting your chimney from the wind is a good idea, as wind can cause backdrafts and sometimes interfere with the correct up-drafting, this can have an impact on stove operation and efficiency. Investing in a cowl, which fits on top of a chimney is a great way to eliminate this problem.
It also helps keep debris out of the chimney, which can also impact on efficiency and increase the risk of a chimney fire.
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- Cut your logs into different sizes
It’s useful to cut logs into different sizes, to ensure you have a variety to fit in your stove. These can range from larger logs, which can burn for a long while, to smaller ones, which can be ideal when you only need heat to be produced for a shorter time. Burning large logs when you don’t need to is a waste.
A selection of logs gives you an efficient choice.
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- Select the right type of wood
Different wood produces different heat outputs when burning. We have a full section on the best (and worst) wood to burn here. You will ideally want wood, which produces a steady flame, and good heat output, so wood such as ash, beech and thorn are great, while wood such as alder, holly and spruce do not produce a good flame output.
Generally speaking the better the heat output, the less wood you need to burn for the same level of warmth.
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- The Top/Down method is best
With this method you will start with a parallel arrangement of large pieces of wood across the floor of the burning chamber, then you stack more wood into a pyramid style, alternating between lengthwise and crosswise. At the top of the pyramid you will have fast burning kindling.
When ready to light, simply light the top, stand back and watch the faster wood burn, and see it then naturally progress to the slower burning firewood. This is a quick and highly efficient way to light your fire and get it up to temperature.
You are able to get more hints and tips on our website at – https://charltonandjenrick.com/products/stoves/
