The New Woodburning

There's been a revolution at your local wood stove store

When most people think of wood stoves, their memory conjures up images of rusting pot-belly stoves or dusty black steel boxes on legs. These were the trusty old wood burners that helped a lot of Canadian families through the energy crisis of twenty years ago when the price of other heating fuels went off the scale. But step into the showroom of a wood stove and fireplace shop these days and you'll see instantly that things have changed.

One obvious change is that many models on display burn gas or propane, not wood. These gas burners are for people who place a higher value on convenience than on a real wood fire. Still, for those who want the real thing, not fake logs and engineered flames, there are plenty of wood burners to choose from, not a pot belly stove or dusty black box among them.

Every unit in the store is either decked out in a glossy enamel finish, or sports glittering gold on the door and trim (yes that's real gold plating). Here's a shapely cast iron model in rich red enamel, and over there is one in deep green enamel that also has a gold door. And what's this? a stove painted in traditional matte black, but unlike the old "airtight", this one is a handsome pedestal model that would look right at home in any family room or cottage.

One thing all the stoves have in common is a big glass panel in the loading door. Actually, it's not glass at all, but a crystal-clear ceramic material that can take the heat and is almost unbreakable. The revolution in woodburning has yielded a technology called glass air wash that keeps the glass clear for days, and for some models, weeks at a time. In the showroom, customers are impressed with the look of the fire through the clear glass, but they are really amazed when they have one installed in their home and find it always looks that way.

Although the new wood burners are transformed visually, the changes are more than superficial. In fact, the biggest changes are hidden inside where clever technologies cut smoke emissions by up to ninety percent and boost efficiency as much as one-third from a stove built only fifteen years ago. In the real world of day-to-day use these improvements mean no visible smoke from the chimney and the purchase, storage and handling of a lot less wood. And they're safer too because the clear exhaust doesn't deposit the sticky creosote that can lead to a damaging chimney fire.

Twenty years ago wood stoves were practical and reliable, but homely. Today a wood stove is an attractive accent to the room's decor and with a fire on in the evening, it creates a cozy and inviting ambiance. Plus, it is super-clean burning and as efficient as a gas furnace.

This one may look like a wood stove but it actually burns wood pellets by slowly feeding the tiny compressed sawdust cylinders into a combustion pot where they burn in a steady, controlled way. A control system inside the stove manages the fuel feed rate and flow of combustion air so you can set it to the desired heat output and forget it. Automatic operation, combined with the convenience of bagged pellet fuel, make pellet stoves appealing to people who like the idea of heating with wood, but want a more convenient system.

Part of the wood heat revolution is in new knowledge about how fuel use affects the environment. You've heard about global warming, which is caused by increased carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse gases' in the atmosphere. Most greenhouse gases are released by burning fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, propane and coal.

But wood stoves and pellet stoves use fuel that is renewable, meaning as long as the forest is managed wisely, we can use it forever without using it up. More importantly, though, wood fuels recycle carbon dioxide because growing trees absorb it from the air. So burning wood for home heating does not contribute to global warming and that 's a big environmental benefit.

Yes, the old wood stove has passed into history, but woodburning is alive and well. In fact, it's a far better option for home heating and enjoyment than ever, thanks to the low maintenance, clean burning , super-efficient, attractive new stoves.

With one of these new stoves in your home, you could weather the next ice storm, power outage or energy crisis in style. While you're waiting, though, you might as well enjoy a cozy fire.

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