WOODSTOVE Buyer's Guide

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There are many other features you might wish to consider. These include whether the stove can be operated with open doors and a fire screen in place (see footnote on the chart ), whether it has an ash pan, a cooking surface, and aesthetic matters like color options, plated doors and trim, and pedestal versus legs. None of these affect heating performance but can influence your enjoyment of the stove.

For lots of additional great information about wood heat, chimneys, firewood, etc., go to www.woodheat.org, a nonprofit Web site supervised by John Gulland and other wood heat experts.

The 10 reasons to heat with wood

1. It's a renewable energy resource

Wood is energy from the sun, stored by the tree as it grows. When you burn wood you are releasing this stored energy. In the dark of winter, it's like having a bit of summer sun on your hearth.

2. An Earth- friendly choice

When fuels burn they release carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, so when you heat with wood, the carbon dioxide is released, then absorbed again by young trees. Because trees recycle carbon dioxide, wood burning just warms you, not the globe.

3. You're in charge

Stop writing checks every month to the energy utilities. Do you really want to leave something as important as staying warm in the hands of a faceless corporation?

4. No more freezing in the dark

When a storm interrupts the electrical supply, all the conventional heating systems are useless, but the woodstove keeps you warm and cozy and safe. Now a power failure isn't so much of a drag: You get to use the candles.

5.Warms you like no other

The radiant heat from a stove or fireplace is like the rays of the sun. It warms you through and through.

6. The romance of the flame

The soft glow of firelight is the favorite setting for an intimate conversation. It's the place where friends and family gather to talk and laugh in comfort.

7. Raise your energy I.Q.

Each log you place on the fire is a visual reminder of the environmental impact of keeping your family warm. It's the wood heat way of knowing.

8. Heat a space, save some energy

That stove or fireplace in the living room keeps you warm and cozy in the place you spend your time. The basement and bedrooms stay cool. Regardless of what you pay for energy, space heating with wood clips 25 percent right off the top.

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