The Pros And Cons Of Owning A Wood Stove

With gas and electric heating prices at record highs, more and more people are considering the wisdom of purchasing a wood burner.

Specialty #1: Modern Log Stoves Are Extremely Efficient
Modern log stoves work at about 80% efficiency. This means that the ⅘ energy stored in the logs is converted into useful heat. In contrast, burning logs over an open fire is only 20% efficient, which means that 80% of the heat is wasted. And many older wood burners are no more than 40-50% efficient.
Modern logs are also dried to more stringent standards than in the past, which helps to further increase the amount of heat produced.
So if you've used logs in the past, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how little wood fuel you need to heat your home.

Disadvantage 1: High upfront cost
Wood fuel is very cost-effective, so using a burner will save you a lot of money in the long run. But if we're talking about short-term expenses, then buying a wood burner and having it professionally installed will cost a lot more than gas and electric heaters.
These high upfront costs are the main reason why many consumers are reluctant to switch to wood heating.

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Pro #2: Wood Heating is Environmentally Friendly
There is a common misconception that wood heating is not environmentally friendly. This belief stems from the scientific fact that wet firewood releases harmful creosote and other pollutants when burned.
However, if the firewood you buy is dry enough and burned in a modern, eco-design certified stove, firewood is actually a very clean heat source.

Let's put the numbers to the test.

Burning dry firewood in a modern stove produces only 0.008 kilograms of carbon dioxide for every kilowatt-hour of heat generated. Burning natural gas produces about 25 times more carbon dioxide (0.198 kg) per kilowatt-hour. Electric heating (depending on how it is produced) can produce up to 0.517 kg of CO2 per kWh of heat generated.

Disadvantage 2: Preparation and Maintenance
If you're used to getting instant heat just by turning a dial, having to light a fire, add firewood regularly, and clean up ashes can be a hassle.

Eventually, many people grow to enjoy tending their wood-burning stoves and see it as a calming activity. Nonetheless, it's still one more thing to do morning and night. There's no way around it.

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Benefit #3: Wood Heating is Extremely Cost-Effective
While wood stove users can go on and on about the comfort and the beauty of natural flames, the real reason most people switch to wood heating is to save money on heating costs.

Wood fuel has always been far more cost-effective than other heat sources. Until last year, wood heating was (on average) about twice as cheap as gas heating and five or six times cheaper than electric heating. This year, the gap between the two has become even more pronounced as the cost of gas and electricity continues to climb to record highs.

Disadvantage 3: Firewood requires storage space
One of the first frustrations people encounter when they start using firewood is realizing how much storage space is needed for a winter's worth of wood fuel.

If you live in a small apartment and don't have any storage space nearby, this can cause some understandable problems. In this case, the best thing to do is to use high-energy sawdust briquettes instead of firewood.

cast iron indoor wood stove