5 efficiency tips for wood burning stoves - Grand Designs Magazine

5 efficiency tips for wood burning stoves

Expert advice on how to ensure the cleanest, most eco-friendly burn possible

By Hugh Metcalf |

Wood burning stoves are feeling the heat, with new data highlighting them as a ‘major contributor’ to small particle pollution. It’s not all bad news though – the same report almost halved the estimated proportion of particle pollution that comes from wood burners from 38% to 17%. But given that road transport is responsible for just 13%, it’s important to ensure that they are as energy efficient as possible. From correct installation to burning the right fuel, these tips will help keep your wood burning stove as energy efficient as possible.

1. Upgrade to an eco model

Wood burning stoves must meet clean air legislation and building regulations. New EcoDesign criteria, which came into force in January 2022, requires all newly designed appliances to be cleaner and more efficient. Look for stoves offering at least 75% efficiency (where 75% of the heat goes directly into heating a room), although the latest designs are up to 90% energy efficient. Note that open fires only offer 15-20% efficiency.

Many brands, including Arada stoves, started to upgrade their stoves ahead of the deadline, including technology to burn off excess gases before they are released into the atmosphere. The Ecco Stove, which combines masonry heater and wood burning stove technology, provides up to 93% efficiency.

If you live in a built-up area, you can burn logs only in a Defra-exempt appliance, designed to produce very little smoke and approved for use in controlled zones.

ceiling hung nordpeis wood burning stove chimney - renovations - granddesigns

Photo: Nordpeis ME woodburner

2. Choose the right equipment for your space

Chose a stove with the correct heating requirement for your space. The wrong size will cause over-firing or under firing, which can be problematic for the stove and flue, but also the environment.

Declan Kingsley-Walsh, managing director at Morsø, explains that to find the figure you need to match with kW output, you should work out the volume of the room and then divide it by 14.

whiting architects melbourne home kitchen with polished concrete - granddesigns

Photo: Morsø 7449

3. Know when to use your burner

A wood burner isn’t the most efficient choice to rely on for the lion’s share of your heating: ‘They should only be used to top up a renewable heating system,’ says Rob Bohm, building project manager at CLPM construction project consultancy.

‘For instance, you may need to use a wood burner occasionally during very cold weather in a home with a ground source heat pump or an air source heat pump.’

Wood burning stoves are feeling the heat, with new data highlighting them as a ‘major contributor’ to small particle pollution. It’s not all bad news though – the same report almost halved the estimated proportion of particle pollution that comes from wood burners from 38% to 17%. But given that road transport is responsible for just 13%, it’s important to ensure that they are as energy efficient as possible. From correct installation to burning the right fuel, these tips will help keep your wood burning stove as energy efficient as possible.

1. Upgrade to an eco model

Wood burning stoves must meet clean air legislation and building regulations. New EcoDesign criteria, which came into force in January 2022, requires all newly designed appliances to be cleaner and more efficient. Look for stoves offering at least 75% efficiency (where 75% of the heat goes directly into heating a room), although the latest designs are up to 90% energy efficient. Note that open fires only offer 15-20% efficiency.

Many brands, including Arada stoves, started to upgrade their stoves ahead of the deadline, including technology to burn off excess gases before they are released into the atmosphere. The Ecco Stove, which combines masonry heater and wood burning stove technology, provides up to 93% efficiency.

If you live in a built-up area, you can burn logs only in a Defra-exempt appliance, designed to produce very little smoke and approved for use in controlled zones.

ceiling hung nordpeis wood burning stove chimney - renovations - granddesigns

Photo: Nordpeis ME woodburner

2. Choose the right equipment for your space

Chose a stove with the correct heating requirement for your space. The wrong size will cause over-firing or under firing, which can be problematic for the stove and flue, but also the environment.

Declan Kingsley-Walsh, managing director at Morsø, explains that to find the figure you need to match with kW output, you should work out the volume of the room and then divide it by 14.

whiting architects melbourne home kitchen with polished concrete - granddesigns

Photo: Morsø 7449

3. Know when to use your burner

A wood burner isn’t the most efficient choice to rely on for the lion’s share of your heating: ‘They should only be used to top up a renewable heating system,’ says Rob Bohm, building project manager at CLPM construction project consultancy.

‘For instance, you may need to use a wood burner occasionally during very cold weather in a home with a ground source heat pump or an air source heat pump.’

Image: Scan Stoves

4. Sweep your chimney

Declan Kingsley-Walsh, managing director at Morsø, suggests that ‘a solid fuel appliance should be swept at least once a year prior to season heating’. While it’s not a requirement in the UK to sweep a chimney before you use a stove, it will affect the cleanliness of the emissions from your home, according to HETAS.

The industry has been proactive in promoting clean chimneys and good burning practices, with campaigns such as Woodsure’s Ready to Burn scheme and the chimney sweep-led Burnright campaign.

mendip wood burning stove - granddesigns

Photo: Mendip

5. Burn the right kind of wood

It may seem surprising, but burning wood is considered carbon neutral, since wood gives off the same amount of carbon whether it is burnt or decays naturally. Using the correct type of log fuel, however, is important for effective, clean burning.

‘Dry firewood is essential,’ says Morso’s Declan Kingsley-Walsh. ‘It must have a maximum moisture content of 20% and ideally be kiln dried.’

If burning home-chopped wood, leave it to dry for two years before considering it stove-ready. A recently felled tree can contain as much as 60% moisture, and since wet wood takes more energy to burn, burning dry wood can halve emissions.

For maximum heat output, make sure you use seasoned fuel – look for the Woodsure logo to ensure it has been correctly seasoned and stored. And never burn painted or treated wood, like old decking, as this can release toxic gases and cause congestion in a flue.

parker and coop log store next to wood burning stove

Photo: Parker & Coop woodstore

Wood burning and sustainability

Rob Morgan of fireplace and stove specialist Charlton & Jenrick, on sustainable wood sources and those offering the best burn:

Wood is a highly sustainable, versatile energy source. If sourced from managed woodlands, burning wood on a high-efficiency wood burning stove can actually have a lower environmental CO2 impact than if it was left to rot naturally.

Unlike fossil fuels, which are a depleting resource, trees are continually growing. A hardwood forest will grow about 7 tonnes of new wood a year per hectare, and even more for faster growing soft-wood. There are over 3 million hectares of woodlands in the UK, so it is easy to see how much more sustainable wood is as an energy source than fossil fuels.

The best woods to burn

  • Oak is a hard wood that burns longer and produces a good heat output.
  • Ash is thought to be one of the very best woods for burning. Ash creates a steady flame and a good heat output, and can actually be burned green (although, as with most wood, it burns at its very best when it is dry).
  • Beech burns very well, like ash. However, it does not burn well when green due to its much higher moisture content when live. Beech can be identified by its pale cream colour with a pink or brown hue.
  • Hawthorn has a slow burn rate and offers a good heat output.
  • Rowan, similar to hawthorn, has a very good heat output that burns slowly. Rowan is also known as Mountain Ash.
  • Thorn produces very little smoke, which makes it an ideal wood where excessive smoke could be an issue. It also has a slow burn and produces a good level of heat.
  • Yew produces a pleasant scent when burning, which makes it stand out a little more over other woods. It also offers a slow burn and produces a great, intense heat.

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