Background Wood is one of the oldest heat sources known to man, and has been used since the dawn of time. In the early 1700s, a most remarkable scientist and inventor, Benjamin Franklin (most famous for his discovery of electricity), realised that open fireplaces were smokey, inefficient, and ran the risk of setting homes on fire from sparks. He set about designing the very first wood stove - it used 4 times less wood and generated twice as much heat - a remarkable improvement! This improvement was due to reducing the airflow through the fire. This allowed higher temperatures, which caused the smoke (unburnt distillation products of the fire) to burn - providing higher efficiency and less smoke. It also reduced the amount of air drawn out of the house by the fire
Efficiency of Wood Stoves
Wood stoves are very efficient. Modern woodstoves are even more efficient (around 85%), with very little heat lost through the chimney. They are not quite as efficient as a modern condensing central heating boiler, but they have zero carbon footprint, as any carbon dioxide produced by a woodstove is simply reemitting carbon dioxide absorbed by trees during their lifetime. As long as the wood is from a sustainable wood source, there is no net increase in CO2 emission - making woodstoves a very environmentally-friendly heat source.
Wood stoves are very efficient. Modern woodstoves are even more efficient (around 85%), with very little heat lost through the chimney. They are not quite as efficient as a modern condensing central heating boiler, but they have zero carbon footprint, as any carbon dioxide produced by a woodstove is simply reemitting carbon dioxide absorbed by trees during their lifetime. As long as the wood is from a sustainable wood source, there is no net increase in CO2 emission - making woodstoves a very environmentally-friendly heat source.
