As a renewable natural resource wood has become a popular alternate fuel of choice for many environmentally conscious people. The cost of energy has also driven many people to supplement their home heating with wood.
The older wood stoves provided homes with their hot water and were used for cooking. Upper levels had transfer grilles in the ceiling to allow heat to rise through out the home.
Fireplaces were also common in older homes but more as a decoration than a necessity as was the wood stove. Older fireplaces were very inefficient as most of the heat went up the chimney.
Cutting and splitting wood can be hard work and you will need a large area to store and season your firewood. Moving wood into the home is a continual chore and wood may contain fungi or insects. Buying wood can eat up any savings you were anticipating by using wood as an alternate energy source.
Most insurance companies now require you to have your wood stove or fireplace inspected by a WETT Certified inspector. This will ensure you installation complies with the Manufactures installation instructions, the local Building Code and CSA or ULC standards.
Your chimney, whether masonry brick or stainless steel, is an important part of your wood stove or fireplace installation. Your chimney has to be high enough to ensure you have a good draft to prevent smoke from filling your home. A well constructed chimney will be a straight as possible with the least amount of elbows, which will allow your wood stove or fireplace to perform at its peak efficiency.
It is important to burn properly seasoned wood in your wood burning unit. Creosote can build up when burning wet wood and this can lead to a possible chimney fire and even the loss of your home. As much as half the weight of freshly cut logs can be water. This water content must be reduced to 15 to 20 per cent before the wood can burn efficiently. How you process and store the wood is critical to achieving this moisture reduction goal.
Splitting you wood is an excellent way to achieve hotter fires when burning your wood. The hotter the fire reduces the harmful buildup of creosote which is the main cause of chimney fires. Softwood fires will burn hotter than hardwood and can help burn of off and harmful deposits in your chimney. Using soft wood in mild weather is useful for quick hot fires and save your hardwood for the colder days.
Wood Stoves and Fireplaces require a Alliston & Barrie WETT Inspection for Insurance ensure you use a Certified WETT Inspector for Barrie, Alliston & Orillia for your insurance needs.
