Wood Stove Facts

CLOSED COMBUSTION WOOD STOVES

Closed Combustion Wood Stoves (CBWS) are rated around the world at being both efficient and environmentally friendly home heating.

Wood being burnt in our stoves reaches a combustion temperature in excess of 900c. At these temperatures, wood is burnt at nearly 80% efficiency, wasting very little in the way of heat into the atmosphere.

Flue emissions from wood being burnt in our stoves are less than if the wood had rotted naturally in the forest. If you are growing trees and burning the excess /dead wood your contribution towards global warming is nil from a CCWS.

The cost of heating (assuming you are buying wood at about R1400 per tonne) is about 50c per KwHr. About 20% of the price of electricity in South Africa. The cost of installing one of our stoves in your home will typically be paid off in about 2 years of savings in electricity bills.

Warming your home with a CCWS, instead of electricity, will reduce electrical demand by about 10 000 KwHrs per year. This change in your home will save Eskom burning 4 tonnes of coal and using many thousands of litres of water per year. For a country with high air pollution and scarce water, something we should all be looking at.

OVERBURNING OF WOOD STOVES/FLUE DAMPERS

Wood stoves are designed to function well with a flue length of typically 3.5 to 5m above the stove.

The longer the flue, the faster the smoke is drawn up the chimney, allowing more air to enter the fire and increasing the heat produced.

If the stove is installed in an area with habitually high winds in winter season, the wind passing the top of the chimney will also assist in sucking out the smoke.

If your stove is going to be installed with a chimney length well in excess of 5m and /or in an area with high winter winds, we suggest you install a flue damper. A flue damper is a restrictor in the flue that can be adjusted to compensate for higher than normal chimneys or areas with high winds. Your stove will work better, provide more useful heat and have a longer lifespan.

Our 14 and 18 Kw Single Sided Stoves fitted with our 1 TOUCH AIR CONTROL SYSTEMS have a built in air inlet restrictor. This can be easily set at installation of the stove to compensate for extra high chimneys or high winds.