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This all depends on exactly what you want your wood burning stove to do for you and the type of chimney you're planning, or can afford to have (see the section 'Creating a chimney for a stove in a new build'). Most people want their stove to not only be a practical heating source but also to be an attractive focal point where family and friends can be drawn to. With a wood burner there's no reason why you can't have both as well as being able to choose exactly where you want your stove, especially if you're not already governed by having a fixed chimney.
Ideally a radiant stove should be placed within a non-combustible fireplace opening with brick or block built chimney to ensure that the stove manufacturer's recommended safe distances to combustible materials can be fulfilled. These safe distances are usually much greater than those for convector stoves. Unfortunately you'll see lots of photographs in stove manufacturer's brochures showing radiant stoves in free-standing situations but in our experience this is rarely practical or particularly safe. If you're not building a Class 1 chimney then you're much safer choosing a convector stove.
These work best in a free-standing installation, including in the middle of a living space because this allows them to more effectively move the warm air that they create around the space. Convector stoves draw up air from their base and warm it as it passes up through specially created channels between the fire chamber and stove side walls. This action helps reduce what would normally be the very high temperatures of the sidewalls which consequently allows for much reduced safe distances to combustible materials. Of course, you can still place a convector stove within a fireplace opening – the bigger the space around the stove then the more effective the heat will be convected around the living space.
These tall, elegant stoves are a relatively new development in stove technology and are designed to work in low energy houses where a little heat will go a very long way. They feature stones (in some cases concrete) which absorb heat and then eventually slowly release it. These are concealed above the stove's fire chamber which accounts for the stove's increased height. Some heat storage stoves also feature stone or ceramic cladding as an option, usually traditional soapstone, which also store even more heat.
Heat storage stoves work by reducing the amount of available heat to the room by taking it to warm the stones. You still get heat to warm the living space, but remember, with a highly insulated home you won't need that much. As the fire in the stove dies down then the heat is slowly released from the heat storage stones. Over the course of the burn cycle, say an evening, this reduces and evens out the level of heat that you get compared to a regular stove which has a big boost of heat and then a trough each time it is fuelled and refuelled. As far as installation goes, heat storage stoves should be treated in the same way as convector stoves.
Although the choice of boiler stoves has been greatly reduced since the introduction of the tough Ecodesign emissions tests in 2022 they still have an important role to play when they're designed into a modern and sustainable domestic heating mix – especially if you have access to a cheap or free wood log supply.
NB Whatever stove you eventually chose, legally whenever the stove is in use you must also use a fire guard that complies with BS8423:2002 (Fireguards for use with solid fuel appliances) to protect children as well as the infirm or elderly who live in or are visiting the house.
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