Jump to main content.

Wood Burning Efficiency and Safety

 

Image of a family in front of a wood stove

Image showing emissions and efficiency of an older non-certified stove compared to an EPA certified stove.

FACTS: The right wood stove, used correctly, keeps wood flaming until it is reduced to coals. A smoldering fire is not an efficient fire.

Do you smell smoke in your home?
Shut down the wood stove, open a window, be sure the flue is open, carefully check the venting (chimney) system, and call a professional wood stove installer or chimney sweep.

Wood smoke is waste. Any smoke that escapes from your wood stove unburned is wasted fuel that will stick in your chimney as creosote or be released as air pollution. An old or poorly installed wood stove can result in higher maintenance costs, greater risk of smoke in your home, and more environmental pollution. It could cause a house fire.

Properly installed EPA certified wood stove and fireplace inserts offer many benefits. They burn wood efficiently, more safely, and heat your home effectively with much less smoke. With EPA certified wood stoves and fireplace inserts, you should see only a thin wisp of steam coming from your chimney.

The following information applies to both wood stoves and wood burning fireplace inserts. Also, see our Clean Burn Fact Sheet (PDF) (1 pg, 391 KB, About PDF)


Installation Affects Efficiency

EPA recommends that your certified wood stove or fireplace insert be professionally installed by a certified technician to insure its safety and proper performance. The safety of your home and family depends on fully understanding and carrying out the critical manufacturer and building code requirements that include:

Errors in installation (by a non-professional) may not be visible, and problems may not be apparent for a considerable length of time—and then only by a resulting home fire.

Furthermore, experienced professionals can properly size and place equipment for best heat distribution. The venting system (or chimney), in particular, is a critical area that requires professional involvement. This is the “engine” that drives the whole burning process—or causes it to perform poorly or fail. Professional decisions about the venting system to ensure adequate draft include:

An EPA certified wood burning stove that is sized and placed properly with a venting system that delivers adequate draft will reduce wood consumption, produce more usable heat, and reduce maintenance from inefficient fires. To learn more about chimneys and venting systems, visit The Wood Heat Organization. Exit EPA disclaimer

One of the best ways to find competent installation professionals is to check their credentials. A source for hearth system planners and installers is the National Fireplace Institute® (NFI). NFI is a non-profit certification agency that conducts nationwide education and testing of hearth professionals. To learn more about NFI and to locate an NFI Wood Burning Specialist, visit The National Fireplace Institute. Exit EPA disclaimer


Practical Tips for Building a Fire

Once your certified stove is properly installed, building an effective fire requires good firewood (using the right wood in the right amount) and good fire building practices. The following practical steps will help you obtain the best efficiency from your wood stove.

Regularly remove ashes from the wood stove into a metal container with a cover and store outdoors.

Money Saving Tips
Look into getting your name on a list with local tree cutters who will drop wood at your home. This saves them from traveling to the landfill and paying dumping fees. It also reduces landfill dumping. Plus, you’ll end up with some free firewood.

You can reduce overall heating needs and heating bills by improving the insulation in your home; caulking around windows, doors, and pipes to seal air gaps; and adding weather-stripping to doors and windows. EPA's ENERGY STAR Home Improvement provides information on home sealing.


Using Your Wood Stove Safely

You should never smell smoke in your home; smoke is unhealthy to breathe. The odor of smoke in your home indicates that your wood stove is not operating efficiently or safely. An EPA certified wood stove burns wood efficiently, releasing 60 to 80% less smoke up the chimney.    

Safety Begins at Installation
Using a wood stove safely starts with proper installation. EPA recommends using a certified professional installer Exit EPA disclaimer as the best way to ensure correct, safe installation. A properly installed wood stove always has a vent to the exterior. 

Because an EPA certified wood stove burns more efficiently than older non-certified models, much less creosote builds up in the chimney. Creosote is a combustible residue formed by wood gases that are not completely burned. Too much creosote can lead to a chimney fire. In 1998, there were 18,300 residential fires in the United States originating in chimneys, fireplaces, and solid fuel appliances, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. These fires resulted in 160 personal injuries, 40 deaths, and $158 million in property damage.

Safety Includes Yearly Maintenance
EPA and fire officials recommend having your wood stove, chimney, and vents professionally inspected and cleaned each year to keep them in safe working order. The Chimney Safety Institute of America Exit EPA disclaimer provides a list of certified chimney sweeps, searchable by state. In addition, Chimneys.com Exit EPA disclaimer provides useful tips for wood stove operation and maintenance

Safe Wood Burning Practices
Once your EPA certified wood stove is properly installed, follow these guidelines for safe operation:    

Install and Maintain a Smoke Alarm
Each year in the United States, about 3,000 people lose their lives in residential fires – and mostly from inhalation of smoke and toxic gases, not as a result of burns. Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms in the home are considered one of the best and least expensive means of providing an early warning of a potentially deadly fire.

If you burn wood in your home, even occasionally, EPA recommends you install a smoke alarm to alert you and your family in the event of a fire. To be effective, smoke alarms must be in the proper location and tested regularly. Batteries should be replaced regularly, too. More information is available from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Exit EPA disclaimer

Install and Maintain a Carbon Monoxide Detector
When wood is not burned completely, the resulting smoke contains a number of chemicals, one of which is carbon monoxide (CO).

Each year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 200 people die from CO poisoning, related to the use of combustion appliances, including wood stoves, in the home.

CO is odorless and colorless. Exposure to CO reduces your blood's ability to carry oxygen. EPA recommends installing a digital CO detector if you use a wood stove or fireplace in your home. A digital CO detector displays the concentration of CO parts per million (ppm) and makes a warning sound that gets louder as the concentration increases. For information about CO detectors and preventing CO poisoning, visit EPA's Indoor Air Publication"Protect Your Family and Yourself from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning."

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.