The snow is falling in Eastern Norway, and the first cold degrees have taken over Oslo. Many people now choose to use the fireplace to heat the home.
Firing in stoves provides rapid heating. A modern, larger wood-burning stove can produce an output equivalent to 10,000 watts. In the course of one hour, this will therefore be 10 kilowatt hours (kWh). In comparison, a panel oven with 1000 watts of power must be turned on for 10 hours to emit the same amount of energy.
This is explained by Øyvind Stranna Larsen, media contact at the industry organization Norsk Ved Forum for wood producers, to Nettavisen.
Save money and the environment
But not everyone knows how to fire. Improper wood burning actually has both economic and environmental consequences. Many people make mistakes from the start. It is during the ignition phase that the error occurs.
Proper wood burning means that you use less wood, achieve higher heat production and have less emissions of particles.
– You have to fire from the top, but there are probably still some who use the old method that I was also taught to do when I was young, says Stranna Larsen and explains:
– If you fire from below, the heat rises in the coarser logs, which then develop gas. The gases go straight into the pipe and pollute. If you fire correctly, with ignition from the top and the slightly coarser cubes at the bottom, you make use of this gas, which then ignites and emits heat.
When the fireplace or stove reaches the right temperature, dangerous pollutants and gases are burned up in the combustion chamber, instead of being released through the chimney. This is called clean burning.
Look for the blue flames
Clean burning takes place after about 20 minutes – when the temperature in the combustion chamber is high. The goal in the ignition phase is the highest possible temperature. But how do you know?
The trick is to look for the color of the flames. Yellow and red flames mean a lower temperature. Blue flames indicate high heat and combustion of the gases in the oven, which in turn means less emission of particulate matter.
In the first layer, you should have some blocks with firewood at the bottom, then you must fill up in layers with kindling wood, which you place in layers crosswise or lengthwise. Push a kindling bag or tin wool on top. Remember that the air valve and damper must be open.
During the ignition phase, it may be worthwhile to have the window slightly ajar in the room you are lighting the fire in, but in most homes and cabins this is not necessary.
– The combustion chamber must not be filled up to more than approx. third with wood, do not overfill. The ignition phase needs a spacious air volume in the combustion chamber for good circulation, says the wood expert.
– The combustion chamber should be filled up to one-third, do not fill it in too much, says the wood expert.
He believes there are not many other pitfalls when it comes to lighting, but modern ovens have larger doors than the old ones.
– During lighting, you should therefore be careful when you open the door to the fireplace stove to avoid smoke being released into the room, he says.
Not sure how to fire up? Below you will find a guide.
How to burn properly in the fireplace
Make sure the damper or air valve on the stove is open. Place a couple of rough blocks at the bottom, fill up with kindling wood. Insert three to four kindling bags/or tin wool. Preferably a couple at the bottom and the rest at the top. Light the fire at the top and let the fire burn down. Keep a window up for better drafts. The fireplace door can be left open. When the fire has burned down completely, and you are left with embers, you can add one log at a time. Now you can adjust the damper down – the more air, the faster it burns. To save wood, you can turn down the air valve or damper.
– Some rogue firewood producers
It is not entirely easy to find out where the wood is best and cheapest. You can buy firewood in regular firewood sales, in shops, but more and more firewood producers choose to offer firewood online.
Most providers sell firewood in liter bags. However, being fooled by the price per liter can be bad business. Stranna Larsen warns consumers.
– This year, with extra high demand, quite a few non-serious manufacturers are entering the market. The goal is to make short-term money. They are often out of the market again when there is a little less demand a few years later, he says.
– Ask for the price per kilowatt hour
For a number of years, Stranna Larsen has worked to ensure that all firewood bags are sold according to how much energy they provide.
– I would certainly recommend that you ask to be informed of the price per kilowatt hour for the wood. It may sound a little strange when it comes to firewood, but everyone has a relationship with energy pricing for electricity.
– There is really no difference between wood and energy. Here you can compare directly, he says.
In practice, this means that the manufacturer must state how many kilowatts the firewood bag provides. Both wood type and stacking are crucial. A manually stacked large sack, for example, will hold more than one that is not stacked. Birch has approx. 24% more calorific value than spruce.
– It is very difficult to distinguish the different prices from the providers if the energy price is not stated (kWh). This applies in particular if you have to evaluate unpackaged big bags versus packed big bags where only the bag price is stated.
If the wood producer does not state a price per kWh, the call is clear:
– It is completely impossible to distinguish the different prices from the providers if the energy effect is not stated (kWh).
If the wood producer does not provide the information, the call is clear:
– If I had called a wood producer who had not been able to state the kilowatt-hour price, I would have said thank you for the call and hung up straight away. Then you are frivolous, he says.
In addition, the wood should not contain more than 20 percent moisture.
This is how you calculate the energy in firewood
To calculate the energy price of wood, the following calculation is made, but it is not necessary for consumers to do this:
1 kg of wood with 20% moisture contains a total of 4.32 kWh. This applies regardless of the type of wood. The calorific value from one type of wood to another varies only per volume unit, not by weight.
If 1 kg of wood is burned in a fireplace that uses 75% of the wood energy, you get 3.24 kWh in the form of heat. Fireplaces sold 1998-2016 utilize 75%. After 2016, utilization is at 80%.
A 1,000 liter unpacked sack of birch typically weighs 300 kg according to the informative supplement in Norwegian Standard 4414 Wood for fuel. It therefore contains wood with 20% moisture: 4.32 kWhx300=1296 kWh.
Fired up in a furnace that uses 75% of the energy, this gives in the form of heat: 1296×0.75=972 kWh. This corresponds to the amount of heat from a panel oven of 1000 watts which is continuously switched on for 972 hours, i.e. approx. 1 month and 10 days. (40.5 days)
If, for example, this 1000 liter birch bag costs NOK 1513, this gives the following energy price: NOK 1513/972=NOK 1.56 per kWh.
Source: Øyvind Stranna Larsen, media contact in the industry organization Norsk Ved Forum for wood producers, to Nettavisen.
2023-10-31 05:16:33
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