While many homes in cold climates are constructed with a built-in fireplace, others don’t have this benefit. Although you may be able to retrofit a firebox into a home, or repair a deteriorating chimney, a wood stove might be the better choice for many homes. Wood stoves, which are freestanding units that have a flue to vent smoke and gases to the outdoors, may use firewood or wood pellets to create heat, providing the warmth and coziness for a single room that many people crave during a cold winter night. But is a wood stove right for you?
Aesthetics
The appearance of the wood stove may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we think it adds a classic, comforting look to a living space. With the right hearth and the proper backdrop, your heater can add a vintage look to your living space, and the warmth that comes from it is well worth the installation.
Efficiency
A wood stove provides efficiency and performance that surpasses that of some other single-room heating systems. A wood fireplace or fireplace insert, for example, tends to be less efficient because so much heat escapes through the chimney. While air pollution is a concern in larger cities, pellet stoves, which use small pellets composed of wood and other organic materials, produce less pollution, burning cleaner than any other solid fuel.
Cost
Installing a wood stove is far less expensive than retrofitting a gas or wood fireplace into an existing home. However, there are some things to take into account that could add on to the cost of the installation. For example, you may need to add in non-combustible flooring, as well as a fire-safe wall behind the location of the fixture. Of course, any new installation comes with a cost, and the low cost of maintenance is something that factors into most homeowners’ decisions.
2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. installs wood stoves and provides complete chimney and fireplace services in Minneapolis. Call Us Today! 612.922.9600 or 1-888-PIXLEYS