Fireplace Insert Vs Wood Stove Efficiency

A wood fireplace is very much a centerpiece.

Fireplace insert vs wood stove efficiency.

Not much can beat the look feel and smell of a wood fire but many homeowners can get hung up on deciding whether a wood burning fireplace or wood stove is a better more efficient choice while each type has its own advantages disadvantages a little research into the comparisons of both can help you make the right decision for your family your style and your heating needs. Why fireplace inserts work so well. All of these features come together to make this one efficient insert. Epa s mandatory smoke emission limit for wood stoves is now 4 5 grams of smoke per hour g h under step 1 of the revised standards of performance for wood burning room heaters.

A nice compromise is to opt for a wood stove insert which would occupy the fireplace area but you might still want to have a standard wood fireplace for added beauty. As for efficiency the less smoke that is produced the more efficient your stove or insert will be. Wood stoves are often big freestanding metal units that simply look awkward when not in use and do little to add beauty to a room. Using one third less firewood wood stoves produce three times the heat of fireplaces.

However even newer epa certified stoves release a lot of fine particulates tiny particles including some carcinogenics that contribute to smog and cause health problems like asthma. And a wood stove at 70 to 75 efficiency is almost as efficient as many steam boilers or older furnaces. A wood fireplace insert on the other hand cranks that efficiency rating upwards past 70 with many models boasting ratings in the mid 80s. Modern wood stoves on the other hand can be highly efficient.

These units often operate at 10 or 15 efficiency which isn t enough to make them useful heating sources. The internal design of wood stoves has changed entirely since the epa issued standards of performance for new wood stoves in 1988. Environmental protection agency limits wood stove and fireplace insert emissions to 7 5 grams of smoke per hour for non catalytic models and 4 1 grams per hour for catalytic models. Step 2 will take effect on may 15 2020 when the standard will be lowered to 2 0 g h.

This insert is approximately 21 31 by 26 5 by 17 3 inches in size and can produce up to 55 000 btu of heat. But if you want to heat a home or room that doesn t have a fireplace then a free standing wood stove is an excellent choice. If you want to maximize the heating efficiency of an existing fireplace then an insert is the best option.