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KEEP THE HOME
FIRES BURNING WITH THE MAGIC OF MASONRY HEATERS
by Thomas
Hirsch
Many
of us here in Northern Michigan pride ourselves in cutting, and heating
with, our own firewood. There
is something deeply satisfying in experiencing the primal element of fire.
Unfortunately for most of us, the way in which we burn wood is
often unhealthy in terms of indoor and outdoor air pollution, and
wasteful, as much of the heat is lost up the chimney.
What
might be called the “first energy crisis” occurred in Europe around
the 15th century. A
growing population were building homes, warships, cooking and heating with
wood, all of which led to the destruction of Europe’s forests.
Pyrotechnical “scientists” of the day were implored to develop
more efficient ways of heating and cooking.
Centuries later, we now have a vast array of styles and options
that come from diverse world cultures.
For example, we have the Russian Fireplace, the German Steinofen
and Kachelofen, the Afghan Tawakhaneh, the Roman Hypocaust, the Chinese
K’ang, and the Korean Ondol, to name a few.
The traditions are rich and interesting.
Home systems have single or multiple functions, like space heating,
under floor heating, baking, cooking and hot water storage.
Masonry
stoves, or masonry heaters, are heat storage systems.
Small, hot, quick fires cause a rapid heat build up in the firebox.
This heat is stored in the masonry body of the stove and then
slowly released to the room. The greater the mass of masonry material, the more heat it
can store. Single firings
lasting two to four hours in a large, whole house system can store enough
heat to last a day or longer. It
is common in our climate for a designer to build in enough heat storage so
that the stove need be fired only twice daily, even in the coldest
weather.
Wood
smoke emissions are a growing environmental concern, particularly in areas
with a high concentration of wood burning appliances and unfavorable local
weather patterns. Incomplete
combustion of wood creates biologically harmful particulate emissions like
tar droplets or creosote. When
we dampen down our stoves or fireplaces in order to slow down the fire or
even out the heat production, we starve the fire of combustion air and
lose many harmful gasses, compounds, tars and heat up the chimney in the
process. Higher temperatures
are created in Masonry Heaters and these harmful compounds are burned in
the firebox, creating heat, and not pollution.
The remaining hot gasses leave the firebox and travel along a
convoluted maze of masonry flues, or smoke channels, within the stove.
Once these gasses reach the chimney, they have lost most of the
heat to the masonry, which in turn will find its way into the dwelling.
Properly built and operated masonry heaters have no creosote
deposits. One Viennese stove builder checked his flues after twenty
years of use and found them still clean!
The
Environmental Protection Agency has created stiffer emissions guidelines
for new conventional wood stoves, though they are still not as clean
burning as masonry heaters. Test
results have shown that masonry heaters provide the cleanest way to burn
cordwood: the average difference is ten to one!
Traditional
masonry stoves are made from brick, clay, tile, sand and stone.
These systems are a natural complement to passive solar design
elements. Together, they can
provide high quality, low-tech, heat in a sustainable way.
The experience of this heat is similar to the popular in-floor,
radiant heat systems.
There
are wood heating phenomenon that have biological effects. Infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation as well as the
ionization of the air stimulate the thermo-regulatory system and
metabolism of the body, intensify respiration, stimulate blood
circulation, nerve, gland and immune function.
UV radiation is needed for the creation of vitamin D.
Ions
are naturally occurring, charged particles in the air.
A room with a higher ratio of positive to negative ions can lead to
lethargy and headaches. Metal
stoves give off positive ions into a space that upset the
positive/negative ion balance. Masonry
heaters only create negative ions, which enhance the living space.
“The
architect Christopher Alexander says that thousands of years of soaking up
solar rays has created a biologically built-in human preference for
radiant heat. This answer to
why people prefer an open fireplace to an open heating vent.”1
“The user of a fireplace comes to understand that fire, like the
sun, is a life sustaining and renewing force, that the real purpose of a
fireplace is to renew the energy of those who gather around it.”2 I hope
you have a chance to renew yourself by a fire during these long winter
nights.
1
Kiko Denzer: Build Your Own Earth Oven
2
Albert Barden and Heikki Hyytiainen: Finnish Fireplaces—Heart of the
Home
REFERENCES:
Institute
for Baubiologie and Ecology: 727-461-4371
Masonry
Heater Association of North America
703-620-3171
The
Book of Masonry Stoves: Rediscovering an Old Way of Warming
David
Lyle, Brick House Publishing, Inc
Lorena
Stoves: Designing, Building and Testing Wood Conserving Cookstoves
Ianto
Evans and Michael Boutette, Volunteers in Asia Publications
Build
Your Own Earth Oven
Kiko
Denzer, self-published: P.O. Box 576 Blodgett Oregon 97326
Harmony
Home Construction, LLC.
8122 Barney Road
Traverse City,
Michigan 49684
Ph: 1-877-45-GREEN Fx: 231-932-9193
info@harmonyhomeconstruction.com
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