You Want a Wood Burning Stove. . . You Just Didn't Know it Yet

            If you’re like me, you’ve recently started considering buying and installing a new wood burning stove for your home. While they may seem antique and rustic, it’s that very feature that will add an air of elegance, sophistication, and coziness to your home.

            If you’re considering getting a wood burning stove but aren’t too sure about it, here are the top 5 reasons why you should invest in one:

A wood burning stove can complete any living room.

Wood burning stoves can come in a large range of different colors and finishes.

A more modern look at today's newest wood burning stoves.

            5. Wood burning stoves are more economic and budget friendly – Imagine what you’re paying for heating now and cut that by at least a third. Wood that is bundled for sale and ready-cut costs about a third of the cost for natural gas, electricity, or oil. Because wood is more affordable, warming your home will also be more affordable since the only thing you need to do this is wood, a match, and your stove.

            If you can’t afford the price of wood all at once, you may be able to find enough scrap wood to fuel your stove. Using “free wood” means you’re collecting wood from the ground or woodlands but not actually cutting anything yourself.

            Additionally, once you have that wood and your stove is in use, you’ll notice a huge drop in your heating bill because of just how much heat a wood burning stove gives off. If a fireplace is 20% efficient at keeping you warm, a wood-burning stove is 3 times more effective, working at an incredible 80% efficiency. This means that 80% of the wood’s energy is released as heat for your home. The difference between this and your average fireplace is that most of the wood’s energy just goes up through your chimney as smoke before every getting a chance to heat your home.

            4. Wood burning stoves burn cleaner – You may think that just because you’re burning wood, you’re releasing more carbon dioxide into the air, which is bad for the environment. The truth is that you’re burning cleaner. How? Well, if you look at the origin of the wood, the tree that it was a part of naturally consumed CO2 as it aged, releasing oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. By the time the tree is cut, the same amount of CO2 is released into the air, regardless of whether you burn it or it rots.

            If you then look at the path for fuel alternatives such as propane, natural gas, or oil, you’ll notice that these fuels don’t play into the carbon cycle by taking carbon from the environment. Because of this, burning these fuels will actually add more CO2 into the air than burning wood.

            3. Wood burning stoves are great backups – Imagine you’re at home, using your heater and watching tv when all of a sudden the power goes out. Since your heater runs on electricity, it stops working. Your tv goes out and none of the lights work, so you can’t see. Imagine the power is out for a few days, so as the days go by, your home gets colder and colder and the only light you have is the sunlight during the day. On top of that, your kitchen stove is electrical, so you can’t cook. Thankfully, your fridge is plugged into a backup generator, so your food doesn’t go bad.

            Now let’s image this with a WBS. The stove is in use when the blackout occurs, and since it runs on wood, the heating stays and you have a circle of light. During the day, you use the sunlight to see and cook on your stove, and during the nights, the stove provides continuous heat and light.

            While this scenario is a little far-fetched, owning a wood burning stove is a great backup in case you ever lose power, especially if you’re relying on electricity to heat your home.

            2. Wood burning stoves provide necessary psychological comfort – You may think that WBS are simply fixtures used to heat your home, but in reality they are so much more than that. They provide humans and even their animal companions with a great psychological comfort. There’s just something about that rich aroma that instinctively calms us down, and looking into the flames can bring us a sense of peace, relaxation, and safety. It is believed that our most primitive human ancestors used wood burning to provide warmth and a feeling of safety, instincts that we still feel today.

            1. Wood burning stoves are beautiful and can bring your family together – Wood burning stoves are gorgeous fixtures which make your home feel more complete and cozy. Nothing hints “cuddling” better than a toasty fire, and people instinctively gather where there is warmth. Having a WBS is more than just for good looks, as it can encourage family bonding and time spent together, meaning your family may come together and do a family event, such as watching a movie or playing a board game.

            If you’re interested in investing in a wood burning stove this Christmas season, make sure you check out https://www.plumbersstock.com/category/427/ for some great deals on a huge variety of brands.