Wood-burning stove

A wood-burning stove (or wood burner or log burner in the UK) is a heating or cooking appliance capable of burning wood fuel, often called solid fuel, and wood-derived biomass fuel, such as sawdust bricks. Generally the appliance consists of a solid metal (usually cast iron or steel) closed firebox, often lined by fire brick, and one or more air controls (which can be manually or automatically operated depending upon the stove). The first wood-burning stove was patented in Strasbourg in 1557. This was two centuries before the Industrial Revolution, so iron was still prohibitively expensive. The first wood-burning stoves were high-end consumer items and only gradually became used widely. The stove is connected by ventilating stove pipe to a suitable flue, which will fill with hot combustion gases once the fuel is ignited. The chimney or flue gases must be hotter than the outside temperature to ensure combustion gases are drawn out of the fire chamber and up the chimney. Wood burners can triple the level of harmful indoor air pollution. Each year 61,000 premature deaths are attributable to ambient air pollution from residential heating with wood and coal in Europe, with an additional 10,000 attributable deaths in North America. The use of wood-burning stoves in Africa is associated with a large number of deaths each year, approximately 463,000. This high number of deaths is due to the inhalation of toxic smoke emitted by the stoves, which contain substances harmful to health. In addition, reliance on wood as an energy source also contributes to deforestation and climate change. Keeping the air flowing correctly through a wood-burning stove is essential for safe and efficient operation of the stove. Fresh air needs to enter the firebox to provide oxygen for the fire; as the fire burns, the smoke must be allowed to rise through the stove pipe, creating negative pressure in the firebox, and exit through the chimney. To regulate air flow, there may be damper devices built into the stove, flue, and stove pipes, and there is usually an air intake adjustment to regulate combustion.