Stone fireplaces
There’s nothing nicer in a home than a roaring open log fireplace in a big solid stone fireplace. You only have to look in any reference book about old english houses, and you’ll find pictures of such fireplaces. They were of course a functional device. They were there 100% to heat the house! No central heating, double glazing or efficient insulation to help keep buildings warm, so the only source of heat was the fireplace, and so they made them big and kept them burning. Off course, as has always been the case, an open fire does look great, but it is highly inefficient as most of the heat goes straight up the chimney.
If people back then had learnt the technology of the wood stove, then they’d have enjoyed far more comfortable winters! I’m not sure when some bright spark first caught on the the advantages of a stove over an open fire, but it was a point of inspiration. Call it a wood stove; wood-burner or whatever you like, the essential advantage is that it gives you control over the rate at which you burn your fuel. Instead of stone fireplaces where the logs just burn at whatever rate they ‘can’… a stove controls the entry of the combustion air. It also allows the heat to be absorbed by the body of the stove. Most importantly though, it allows the reduction of the normally massive flue cross section, down to a size of typically 6″ diameter. The rest of the flue being ‘blocked off’ by steel or asbestos-type sheeting. This means the heat radiated from the stove comes into the room instead of zooming up the chimney above your stone fireplace.
One could argue that stone fireplaces do look their absolute best with a roaring open fire, but in these days of expensive fuel, and rising prices, perhaps the wood stove is the best way to go!