How to Compare Wood Stove Inserts

Cost

• The first method to compare inserts is on cost. The cost of a recessed stove insert can be higher since they require blowers and heavy steel face trimmings, though some hearth inserts cannot be installed without completely relining the chimney. Since they do not use extra energy to circulate heat, hearth stoves can be slightly more efficient than recessed inserts.

Combustion

• There are two types of combustion that can occur in a fire; catalytic and non-catalytic. Catalytic combustion uses a catalytic element, much the way your car does, to process exhaust gases that can still be burned, while non-catalytic fireboxes are designed to burn wood more efficiently by utilizing better insulation and preheating the air used to burn the wood. Catalytic elements must be replaced every few years, as do the baffles of non-catalytic inserts.

EPA Regulations

• The Environmental Protection Agency enacted restrictions on wood stove emissions in 1988 that limits non-catalytic stoves' emissions to 7.5 grams per hour and catalytic stoves' exhaust to 4.1 grams per hour. All inserts must meet or exceed these figures, though some inserts are not EPA-certified, a loophole exists that allows very leaky stoves that burn over 11 pounds of wood per hour to be sold.