How to choose a wood stove

Posted by David Pennarun on November 8, 2021

Equipped with cast iron cooking plates on the top, an oven and a hearth capable of accommodating logs or pellets, the alegna cooker ensures successful heating and cooking functions! Thermo-cooker with a traditional design or models with a modern design: find the wood-burning cooker that's right for you!

How does a wood stove work?

A wood-burning cooker consists of a closed hearth that allows wood to burn, an oven and cooking plates in cast iron or polished cast iron. The thermal cooker is then connected to a duct to evacuate the fumes through an outlet on the roof.

As the name suggests, a wood stove is powered exclusively by wood, while the wood stove can accommodate logs of 20-50 cm. Unlike pellet stove models, a wood stove doesn't need electricity to function.

How to choose a wood stove?

Once used to cook and heat the living room of the whole family, the wood stove has occupied the central point of the habitat for a long time, greatly improving the comfort of families.

The wood-burning cooker is now available in various models, always combining the advantages of heating performance, savings and practicality. Our selection of wood-burning cookers is available in different finishes (cast iron, ceramic, stone, glass doors, built-in hob, etc.), with fireplaces capable of accommodating logs from 20 to 50 cm via front loading and/or or from above.

What are the 5 advantages of a wood stove?

It is multifunctional: the heat generated by the wood stove allows you to heat the interior and cook thanks to the oven and stove.
Its fuel, wood, is the cheapest on the market, making it an economical way of heating. Wood does not suffer price increases like electricity or gas.
It is an ecological heating system: 0% fossil energy consumed, the only energy needed is wood, a renewable and recyclable resource.
Its operation is simple, the grip is fast.
It can heat an entire house if it is equipped with a boiler.

5 criteria to consider before buying a wood stove

Like any heating appliance, it is important to know the different criteria to study in order to make the best choice. Do not hesitate to contact our consultants to be guided in choosing a solution adapted to your needs and your accommodation.

The type of wood-burning cooker: choose an appliance that corresponds to your heating needs. Do you want to use it as supplementary heating or as central heating for your home? Must it also allow for the production of hot water (in this case it is a wood stove with boiler)? Do you prefer a wood, pellet or diesel stove?
The nominal power in kW needed to heat your interior: Neither too much nor too little! Contact us to calculate the power required for your wood stove.
The energy efficiency of the wood stove: expressed as a percentage, it is the ratio between the energy produced and the energy consumed. It is an objective indicator for comparing the performance of different wood stoves with each other. The higher the efficiency of the wood stove, the greater the ability to produce a lot of heat with minimal wood consumption.
Design: in cast iron, steel or stone, they are varied to satisfy every desire.
The brand: we advise you to favor products from Italy (Klover, Edilkamin, Cadel) for their know-how and their low prices on wood stoves.

Which power to choose for a wood stove?

In the same way that you measure the surface area of your walls before buying a can of paint, you need to calculate the wattage you need to purchase a wood stove kitchen. The nominal heating power of a wood stove is measured in kilowatts (kw): 1000 watts = 1 kilowatt. Choosing the right power is essential to prevent the thermo-cooker from working under or in excess:

The risk of a wood-burning cooker that is too powerful for your needs and your home is under-regulation. Your cook and her duct will get dirty faster.
By choosing a small wood-burning cooker, i.e. one with insufficient power for your home, your appliance will have difficulty heating your room. Then it will overwork, which causes premature wear of the kitchen and an increase in energy bills.

Here are some tips for choosing the right power for wood-burning cooking. On average, 100 watts are needed to heat 1 m², 60 watts if the house is very well insulated. 100 watts x your area in m² = the number of kW needed for your area.
Example for 120 m²: 100 x 120 = 12000 Watt, i.e. 12 kW.
This figure gives an indication, but you need to consider your habitat as a whole: insulation and thermal inertia are just as many factors that go into the performance of a wood stove. Maybe you want to use a wood stove in addition to extra heating or just for cooking? It is also a variable to take into account in your calculation!
Do not hesitate to contact us to determine the power required for your needs, we will be able to direct you!

What thermal efficiency for the wood-burning thermo-cooker?

Efficiency is an important feature provided by manufacturers. This figure, expressed as a percentage, represents the amount of wood burned to produce heat. Therefore, an 80% yield means that 80% of the wood has been burned and thus produced heat. The greater the yield, the greater the energy produced by the wood stove and the greater the energy savings through the combustion of the minimum fuel compared to the heat emitted.

How to maintain a wood stove?

Don't neglect cleaning: to be on the safe side, we advise you to clean the flue pipes of your equipment twice a year to avoid soot residue in your chimney.
Use dry firewood for combustion: a moist log takes longer to burn. Thus performance is lost in addition to clogging the ducts and the combustion chamber.
Keep your heating appliance to last: the oven, the cast iron burners of your kitchen counter.