The importance of efficiency in your stove installation
Choosing the right stove for your home
Make a quick assessment of your home:
- The geographical location of your home, because yes it is colder in the north than in the south
- The number of people living in your home
- An estimate of your off-peak hours, do you want a quick heat gain?
- The volume of the rooms to be heated
- The general insulation of the house, to estimate the heat loss
All this information will give you an overall estimate of the power to be provided for your stove. Do not hesitate to consult our advisors to choose the right chimney kit for your stove, whether it is for wood, pellets or granules.
Now that you know the power to use and in order to control your costs in the future it is necessary to take into account the output of it
Evaluate the efficiency of your stove
The efficiency is the ratio between the energy produced and the energy consumed. For a stove, we estimate that the optimal efficiency should be greater than or equal to 70%. This means for example that on 1kg of wood 70% of it is transformed during its combustion into energy for your room.
Moreover, if you take two wood stoves whose power and efficiency are equal, be sure to look at the unit of energy consumed, because it is this data that will allow you to optimize your costs.
Finally, for optimal performance, remember to use a good quality fuel, use the driest wood possible and make sure that the draft is unobstructed, hence the need to use the right chimney flue.
We hope that our advice will help you to enjoy this winter in all serenity.
SOOT AND CONDENSATION
When burning wood, your stove may produce a blackish layer in your chimney flue called soot.
This layer is highly flammable and is the mixture of fine carbon particles with water produced during the burning of wood.
Soot is the cause of many fires in wood burning fireplaces and its accumulation can clog your chimney flue leading to carbon monoxide poisoning.
What causes dullness to form in your chimney flues and how can you prevent it?
There are many possible cases of soot deposits in your chimney flues and the quality of the draught, the quality of the wood and its use play an essential role in its formation.
Case number 1: The quality of the draft of your smoke
The draught of the smoke consists in evacuating quickly the hot smoke produced during the combustion towards the outside. A bad draught favours the persistence of the smoke in your flues allowing the accumulation of soot and water, this water will be created when the smoke cools down in contact with the walls of the chimney. As you can see, the speed of smoke evacuation is very important. For an optimal natural draft:
Choose a long and thin flue rather than a short and wide one
The flue must be as straight as possible, that is why only one deviation is possible
Check your CMV and/or open a window from time to time, today's homes have a very important air tightness
In case of strong winds, the anti-backflow hat is your friend
Case number 2: The quality of your wood
It is important to use the driest wood possible, with 15 to 25% water. Freshly cut wood contains an average of 50% to 60% water and since soot is created from water, it is better to have as little as possible when burning wood. If you want to store wood at home, consider putting it in a dry place on a pallet or put it outside on a pallet in a shelter and cover it with a tarp.
Don't overload your heating system with too much wood
Remember to sweep your chimney at least twice a year
If the soot is already installed, your chimney sweep can carry out a mechanical or chemical removal.)
Soot is an important problem that you must take care of. However, a good installation and use of your heating device, a good maintenance and finally a good fuel will allow you to enjoy your fireplace serenely.
