What to look for in a new woodburner
| Published date | 28 April 2022 |
| Publication title | Clutha Leader |
Many people also like the toasty radiant heat a woodburner produces.
Some models can heat hot water and all of them can be used during a power cut.
Many have a flat top surface for heating a kettle — or even for emergency cooking.
Woodburners aren’t as convenient as heat pumps or central heating systems.
You ‘‘regulate’’ the room temperature through the amount of wood you burn and there’s no timer-controlled automatic starting system. You also have to buy firewood in advance and store it.
If you’re about to buy a woodburner, here’s what to consider:
Type
Freestanding models are generally the most efficient (for a given firewood load, they return the most heat to a room). They’re also the cheapest to install. But if you have an existing open fireplace, an insert model is most often the way to go. Although insert models are not as efficient as freestanders, they’re way better than an open fire.
Heat output
If you have a non-draughty, well-insulated home in the north of the North Island then 10kW should be plenty. A larger house — or the same-sized but a less-well-insulated and draughty house — further south will require 12-14kW.
In non-open-plan houses there’s no point in overheating the lounge while the rest of the house stays cold. Install a heat-distribution system to help spread the heat throughout the house.
Be careful about manufacturers’ heat-output claims — some grossly exaggerate what you’ll get. Always check the compliance plate. This has to be on every woodburner that’s sold — and it states the tested heat output, along with the efficiency and emissions rate.
Convector v radiant
All woodburners both heat the air and radiate heat on to objects that are within a few metres of them. But some woodburners are marketed as predominantly one type or the other. It depends on the external design of the firebox. Convectors are best for well-insulated non-draughty houses with low ceilings. Radiant-type models suit older and less-well insulated (or draughty) houses with higher ceilings.
A convector heater heats the air immediately around it. Hot air is lighter (less dense) — so it rises away from the heater and gets replaced with cooler air which is in turn heated. This convection air-current means that the warmest air in the room ends up near the ceiling with the coolest air near the floor. Convector heaters are air warmers.
A radiant heater ‘‘shines’’ heat on to anything in its path. That...
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