Wood-fired Central Heat
(Page 4 of 7)
February/March 2003
By Greg Pahl
According to studies and feedback from some people who have actually used these boilers, some of the manufacturers' claims appear to be overstated. There are claims of "combustion efficiencies" of more than 90 percent. Even if this were true, the only meaningful efficiency number is "overall efficiency." In 1998, the EPA sponsored a test of two outdoor boilers. The average of the tests for each unit resulted in an efficiency of about 50 percent (compared to efficiencies in the 70 percent range for many EPA-certified woodstoves).
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Claims by some manufacturers for up to 96 hours of heat out of a single firebox load of wood don't generally seem to hold up in the real world either. Twenty-four hours appear to be a more realistic maximum for most folks. The life expectancy of some of these boilers has not been very good; some have been known to spring leaks after just a few years. Under certain circumstances, an outdoor boiler might make sense, but for most folks, a wood-fired central heater or woodstove is probably a better choice. You'll burn less wood and save money in the long run.
CHOOSING YOUR SYSTEM
The designs, features and quality offered by domestic wood-fired central boilers and furnaces vary quite a bit. Cheaper is not necessarily better. Unlike woodstoves, these furnaces and boilers all tend to look about the same from the outside. They generally are a rectangular box with several castiron doors and a few dials, gauges or switches on the front end. What's inside the box, how well its components are designed and how efficiently they operate are the main points on which to focus.
If you are going to go to the trouble and expense of having someone drag one of these things into your basement and connect it to your heating system, you want it to last a long, long time, probably for as long as you own your home. Be sure to look at the company's history carefully and try to get as much unbiased, third-party feedback as possible. The longer the manufacturer has been in business, the better your chances of getting a quality product. Talk to an experienced wood-fired central heating expert, check out HearthNet ( www.hearth.com ) or Woodheat.org ( www.woodheat.org ) for useful information, customer feedback and industry links.
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