What’s a Masonry Heater?
A MASONRY HEATER ALLOWS
YOU TO HEAT YOUR HOME WITH WOOD IN A UNIQUE WAY.
The main thing that distinguishes a masonry heater is the ability to
store a large amount of heat. This means that you can rapidly burn a large
charge of wood without overheating your house. The heat is stored in the
masonry thermal mass, and then slowly radiates into your house for the
next 18 to 24 hours.
If you burn wood fairly rapidly, it is a clean fuel. If you try to burn
it too slowly, the fire will change from flaming to smoldering combustion.
The burning process is incomplete and produces tars. Atmospheric pollution
increases dramatically. This is important if you are planning an energy-efficient
house. The average energy demand of your house will be quite low. For
most of the time, it may require only 1 to 2 kW of heat. For most conventional
woodstoves, this is below their “critical burn rate”, or the
point where they start to smolder.
Masonry heaters fill the bill perfectly. If you need even a very small
amount of heat, such as between seasons when you simply want to take off
the chill, you simply burn a smaller fuel charge–yet you still burn
it quickly. The large surface is never too hot to touch. You have a premium
radiant heating system with a comfort level that simply cannot be equaled
by convection or forced air systems.
(90 KB Acrobat PDF file) Freely reuseable with copyright
credit to SNEWS magazine.
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