How to Make a Woodstove Burn More Efficiently

Make sure that your woodstove is of the appropriate size for the desired heating area and that it is EPA certified. Remember to take into account the size of the rooms, the number of rooms and the ceiling height when deciding upon a woodstove. Experts suggest purchasing a slightly smaller wood stove and using it at a higher temperature instead of using a larger stove for the same area. Additionally, EPA-certified stoves are all guaranteed to emit 50-60% less pollution than other stoves; at the same time these stoves also burn more efficiently, using about one third of the wood of a non-certified stove.

Start the fire with softwood kindling. Ideal only for starting the fire, softwood (such as pines or fir) burn quicker and hotter than other types of kindling because they are lower in density than other woods.

Properly utilize your damper during the heating process. Like any oxidation-combustion reaction, burning firewood requires a sufficient amount of oxygen, and the damper is the woodstove's connection to the flow of air from your chimney. Leave the damper open for 30 minutes after starting the fire in order to allow a proper airflow and to allow the chimney itself to increase in warmth.

Begin to burn hardwood kindling (instead of the softwood used to start the fire) once the fire in your woodstove is successfully started and the hotbox is appropriately heated. Hardwoods (such as cherry and oak) burn slower and more evenly than softwood logs of comparable sizes; this slow and even burning process produces more heat energy and less smoke than softwood kindling, making hardwood more efficient and ecologically friendly. Make sure that all of the kindling used in your woodstove is "seasoned"; that is, that all of the wood contains 20 percent or less moisture by weight. Seasoned firewood burns significantly better than its non-seasoned counterparts.