Why heat with a masonry heater

People choose a masonry heater for many reasons. Some want to heat with wood without the smoke and the constant tending. Some want independence from oil, gas and the electricity grid. Some simply want the most comfortable warmth there is. A well built heater gives all of these at once.

Efficiency

Masonry heaters are among the most efficient ways there are to burn wood. Combustion efficiency averages around ninety-five percent, and the best designs transfer eighty to eighty-five percent of the heat into the house. That is far higher than a metal stove or an open fireplace, most of whose heat goes up the chimney. In practice a heater burns a fraction of the wood: one or two small loads a day are enough to keep a two-thousand-square-foot house comfortable.

Clean burning and safe

Because the fire is hot and burns completely, almost no smoke leaves the chimney and a properly built and operated heater does not produce creosote. The fire is contained in a firebox behind a door, and the outer surfaces are warm rather than hot, so the heater is safe to touch for children and pets and safe to sit against.

Comfort

The heat is radiant and even. Instead of blasts of hot air and cold corners, the walls, floor and furniture warm up and stay warm, and the temperature is nearly the same from floor to ceiling and from room to room. The air is not dried out or blown about, which many people find far more pleasant than forced-air heating.

Independence

A masonry heater needs no electricity, no pump and no fan. When the power goes out in a winter storm, the house stays warm. Wood is a renewable, local fuel and, at current prices for oil, propane and electricity, by far the cheapest way to heat in this region. A heater also suits a passive solar house very well, because both work by storing heat in mass.

Low maintenance, long life

A heater asks for very little: light the fire, close the door when it has burned down, and clean the flue channels once a year. There are no moving parts to fail. Built of firebrick and stone, a masonry heater is a permanent part of the house and will outlast several generations of metal stoves.

More than a heater

Most heaters can include a bake oven for bread and pizza, a heated bench, a cooking surface or a connection to a hot water tank. And because each one is designed for its house and faced in tile, stone, brick or plaster, it becomes a piece of the architecture rather than an appliance.

The full list of advantages is on the Benefits of Masonry Heaters page. To talk about a heater for your home, contact Udo.