A lot has been said recently about the need for cleaner burning wood fires. Government regulations have cracked down on dirty wood fires in an effort to reduce air pollution and preserve our beautiful New Zealand environment. In fact, burning dry wood from a sustainable forest using an efficient wood burner is one of the most environmentally friendly ways to heat your home.
While trees are growing, they capture carbon dioxide from the air. This carbon dioxide is released either when the wood is burnt, or when the tree dies and rots. This means the net greenhouse gas emissions from burning wood from sustainable forests (where new trees are planted after tree felling) are small in comparison to heating with gas, coal or electricity.
Taking care of our pristine environment is extremely important. So what makes a fire clean, what practical benefits does a clean wood fire offer your home and why are Ethos Woodfires the best choice in efficient, clean burners?
You measure how clean a wood burner is by assessing how much smoke or creosote is released with the fires exhaust. Wet wood and inefficient burners produce thick, black smoke that pollute the air and clog up flue systems. A clean wood fire focuses on breaking down the creosote as much as possible inside the fuel chamber so less polution is released into the atmosphere.
A great side effect of this is that much more heat is released into the home. Creosote is a potential fuel source and by creating a fuel chamber that's hot enough to combust it, you get more heat in your home and less mess up your flue. A truly clean fire will burn every part of the wood that fuels it. The wood itself, the creosote and the natural gasses the wood releases can all be used to heat your home and Ethos Woodfires doesn't waste a thing.
Burning the creosote in the fuel box also means that there is less of a mess in your flue kit. A clean flue is key in the performance of your fire and burning wet wood in an inefficient fire can create all kinds of problems. Excessive exhaust will stick to the inside lining of your flue and will quickly create blockages. These prevent the flow of air through the flue system, the ability to remove the fire's exhaust and can even be a fire hazard.
A true clean burning fire can even save you money. Your home only needs so much power to heat it. If you're maximising the heat from your fuel then you use much less fuel to heat your home. We constantly hear feedback from new Ethos customers that they reduced their yearly wood consumption by almost 50%.
Thick heat retentive bricks protrude from the rear of the fire box, creating wood free zones. These zones fill up with the natural gasses released from the wood, have super heated air from the flue injected into the base and create a roaring gas fire behind the wood pile.
By burning absolutely everything inside the fuel chamber and Ethos Woodfire can produce a maximum 18kW output off only one or two pieces of wood, halve your fuel consumption and guarantee it's performance all year round.
Stop into one of our specialist dealers throughout New Zealand or contact us direct if you would like to lean more about what makes Ethos Woodfires so unique.
