The topic that seems to be unavoidable at the moment is the cost of living crisis, specifically, the astronomical prices for gas and electricity. As a result of these price hikes, we’re seeing more and more people researching the option of owning a woodburning stove. Woodburning stoves are fantastic at efficiently heating your home and freeing you from the control of energy companies.

If you are looking into the option of having a woodburning stove fireplace, it’s always good to know what kind of efficiency you can expect. We’ve put together a guide covering everything you need to know, along with the importance of ensuring you choose a stove fireplace with the right capacity for your room.

The efficiency of a woodburning stove

Modern woodburning stoves have come a really long way in terms of efficiency when compared to a traditional open fire. Generally speaking, an open fire achieves an average of 15% efficiency due to heat being lost through the chimney. However, a modern woodburning stove achieves an average efficiency of around 80%. This means that 80% of the heat produced by the stove is used to heat the room, with the other 20% being lost through the chimney.

To summarise, woodburning stoves are very efficient and are an excellent choice  for heating a home.

The importance of stove capacity

A really important factor to consider when it comes to maximising the efficiency of your new stove fireplace is the capacity. The capacity of a woodburning stove must match the space you want to heat, however, there are a few other things to consider. Firstly, you need to determine what you’re looking for from your woodburning stove; are you wanting it to be the main source of heat? Or is its purpose more for atmosphere and enjoyment? If heating is the main goal, the stove needs to have a bigger capacity. If you choose to have your stove installed by us, our team of experts will advise on the best stove to suit your home and maximise efficiency.

The consequences of having the wrong stove capacity

If you have a woodburning stove that has too much capacity for your room, this will result in the room becoming so hot that it can’t be enjoyed. If this is the case, you’ll quickly find yourselves wanting to open windows to lose heat, which has a big impact on the overall efficiency of your stove. Additionally, too much capacity can result in insufficient combustion which creates odour and pollution in the chimney.

On the flipside, having a capacity that’s too low for the size of your room means that it simply won’t heat your home well enough. This is fine if you’re just looking for your fire to add atmosphere, but if the main goal is to heat your home efficiently and save money on your energy bills, making sure you opt for the right capacity is key!

How do you know what capacity you need?

There are a number of formulas out there which can help you calculate the required capacity of a stove based on your room size. But to be extra certain, we’d recommend getting in touch with our team of experts who will be able to advise you. 

Closing thoughts

So there you have it, everything you need to know about woodburning stoves and their efficiency. To summarise, they are a fantastic option for those looking for an efficient way to heat their home. It is, however, vitally important that you select the right capacity stove.