Heating Your Home: Why Woodstoves Aren’t the Answer
Author’s note: the following article on home heating is the sixth in an eight-part series.
Metal woodstoves are a significant improvement over open fireplaces from the standpoint of producing more usable heat. They limit incoming air, thus avoiding heating air not needed for combustion. Another improvement: they use a lengthened heat exchange pathway to improve heat transfer from the heated combustion gases before they exit the chimney.
Unfortunately, metal woodstoves must operate at low, inefficient, and polluting combustion temperatures. Why? Because wood combustion requires high temperatures to be clean and efficient. Wood burns starts to burn cleanly at around 1200 degrees Fahrenheit, with continuous improvement up to about 2000 degrees. Cast iron begins to glow red and fail at about 1200 degrees. See the problem?
Put a lid on it! No, we don't want you to shut up. You should know by now that you have to take us quite literally! Today we're talking cooking, stove tops, and of course, lids. Read on for the simplest tip on how to cook faster, and with less energy!
