wood furnaces
 Wood furnaces are just what their name
implies, large furnaces which are designed to burn wood rather than
coal, gas or fuel oil. They are normally placed in a basement,
garage or sometimes outside the house altogether. They are not
designed for aesthetics but they are designed to burn large quantities
of firewood efficiently and so they can be a viable alternative for
home heating.
Wood furnaces can be used in conjunction with any conventional home
heating system such as forced-air heating, radiant floor heat, and
baseboard heating systems. Some systems are also designed to
provide hot water heating as well. In some cases, wood furnaces
are designed to use multiple fuels such as gas, heating oil and
propane as well as wood. Duel fuel furnaces are built so that if the wood
runs out the alternate fuel source kicks in automatically. This
can be really useful if you are in a situation where you might be gone
for a long period of time and would not be able to feed your wood
furnace.
One advantage of a wood furnace is that it is designed to hold
large quantities of wood so does not have to be tended quite as often
as a small wood stove. Nonetheless they do have to be fed wood
on a regular basis. Keep this in mind if you are considering using an
outside furnace. During winter the furnace will go through wood
much faster as the heat is consumed which could mean going out in the
snow and cold to continue to feed it. While this might be fine
in some climates, in cold northern climates this may not something you
may want to do on a daily basis.
Most modern designs include both a primary and a secondary combustion
chamber. The secondary combustion chamber is similar to those on
many wood burning stoves and reheats the hydrocarbon gases to ensure
that the maximum amount of energy is extracted from the wood.
Wood furnaces are larger and more expensive than traditional wood
stoves. Because they are located in a basement or outside where
the people aren't, fans must be used to move the heated air to where
the people are. This means that some energy is consumed as the air
flows through the heating ducts. If your
furnace is located outside, their can often be considerable heat loss
between the furnace itself and the house which, particularly in
winter, can detract significantly from their efficiency. Good
insulation of the ducts is needed to minimize this heat loss.
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