By Thembi Borras
A well-designed wood burning system embodies building a strong draft quickly, so a new fire is easy to start. When a fire is started, smoke should not spill into the room and excessive creosote should not accumulate. When a fire is not burning a cold draft should not come down the chimney. A well-designed wood burning system is a pleasure to use and the kind of system you want in your home.
There are ten design characteristics of a successful stove or fireplace system, they are:
1. The chimney runs inside the heated space of the home.
2. The chimney penetrates near the high point of the heated space.
3. The chimney is tall enough, beyond where it penetrates the roof, its top is clear of obstacles and it has a chimney cap.
4. The chimney flue is insulated and is the correct size for the appliance.
5. The conduit from the appliance runs straight up from the appliance and has no offsets.
6. The appliance and venting system are well sealed.
7. The stove or fireplace is EPA certified for safety and emissions.
8. If the system is installed in a tightly sealed house, the house has a balanced ventilation system.
9. If a large exhaust fan, such as a downdraft kitchen range exhaust, is present, it is electrically interlocked to a fan-forced make-up air system.
10. The appliance is operated by an informed user and regularly maintained.
These design characteristics function to keep the chimney gasses warmer than the heated space for as long as possible to keep the gases moving as quickly as possible, which facilitates beneficial draft and minimizes creosote buildup. These design characteristics also function to balance the air going out with the air coming in. This prevents the house from becoming depressurized, a symptom of which is smoke spillage and a cold draft from the chimney when there is no fire.
For more information, visit the website http://www.woodheat.org/, from which this production was gleaned.
Showing posts with label chimney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chimney. Show all posts
December 4, 2005
November 27, 2005
Heating with Wood
By Thembi Borras
The following suggestions are provided to support firewood harvested sustainably, burned cleanly and efficiently, and its energy used.
1. Harvest your firewood sustainably, which includes not cutting wildlife trees, avoiding damage to remaining trees, using existing roads, matching the weather to the surface of the road, selecting trees with the future condition of the stand in mind and where appropriate giving removal preference to hardwoods overtopping or competing with conifers. If you buy your firewood, ask your supplier where the wood came from. Make it known you only want wood harvested sustainably. Also, be aware of diseases which may use your vehicle as a vector, such as Sudden Oak Death.
2. Design your wood burning system such that it burns wood cleanly and efficiently (more on this next week). The efficiency of the wood burning system you select can vary greatly, open fireplaces deliver between zero and 20% net efficiency, whereas the contemporary "hi-tech" air tight wood stove may deliver better than 75% net efficiency.
3. Install your indoor wood burning system per the manufacturer specifications and maintain it so that it remains working efficiently and safe. Maintenance includes cleaning the accumulation of creosote in the chimney, which is a flammable by-product of wood combustion. Most stove-related fires are attributable to installation, operation and maintenance, rather than product defects.
4. Your wood burning system can only operate with high efficiency and low emissions if your firewood is properly seasoned. Properly seasoned firewood has a moisture content of less than 20%. One way to properly season your firewood is to cut, split and stack the wood in the early spring and let it stand in the sun and wind all summer. Symptoms of poor performance related to wet firewood include, difficulty getting a fire going and keeping it burning, smoky fires with little flame, dirty glass, rapid creosote buildup in the chimney, low heat output, the smell of smoke in the house, short burn times, excessive fuel consumption and blue-gray smoke from the chimney.
5. Insulate your home to contain the heat you produce. Note open fireplaces may perform very badly in tight homes because the house is easily depressurized.
For more information, visit the website http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/aqmd/, from which this production was gleaned. The article "Heating with Wood" by G. Nelson Wolfe was also used as a source.
The following suggestions are provided to support firewood harvested sustainably, burned cleanly and efficiently, and its energy used.
1. Harvest your firewood sustainably, which includes not cutting wildlife trees, avoiding damage to remaining trees, using existing roads, matching the weather to the surface of the road, selecting trees with the future condition of the stand in mind and where appropriate giving removal preference to hardwoods overtopping or competing with conifers. If you buy your firewood, ask your supplier where the wood came from. Make it known you only want wood harvested sustainably. Also, be aware of diseases which may use your vehicle as a vector, such as Sudden Oak Death.
2. Design your wood burning system such that it burns wood cleanly and efficiently (more on this next week). The efficiency of the wood burning system you select can vary greatly, open fireplaces deliver between zero and 20% net efficiency, whereas the contemporary "hi-tech" air tight wood stove may deliver better than 75% net efficiency.
3. Install your indoor wood burning system per the manufacturer specifications and maintain it so that it remains working efficiently and safe. Maintenance includes cleaning the accumulation of creosote in the chimney, which is a flammable by-product of wood combustion. Most stove-related fires are attributable to installation, operation and maintenance, rather than product defects.
4. Your wood burning system can only operate with high efficiency and low emissions if your firewood is properly seasoned. Properly seasoned firewood has a moisture content of less than 20%. One way to properly season your firewood is to cut, split and stack the wood in the early spring and let it stand in the sun and wind all summer. Symptoms of poor performance related to wet firewood include, difficulty getting a fire going and keeping it burning, smoky fires with little flame, dirty glass, rapid creosote buildup in the chimney, low heat output, the smell of smoke in the house, short burn times, excessive fuel consumption and blue-gray smoke from the chimney.
5. Insulate your home to contain the heat you produce. Note open fireplaces may perform very badly in tight homes because the house is easily depressurized.
For more information, visit the website http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us/aqmd/, from which this production was gleaned. The article "Heating with Wood" by G. Nelson Wolfe was also used as a source.
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