Keeping your stove efficient
Fireplaces are well known and loved for their romance and warmth. However, fireplaces aren’t very good for heating and here is why. When you use a fireplace you create heat at the bottom of a tall shaft. That heat naturally wants to rise (remember learning about hot air balloons in primary school?) and it does. It rises right out of your house and takes your heat with it as cold air seeps in from the cracks to replace the volume. Wood burning stoves are far better for heating, but they can also catch some of the inefficiency that is natural for an opening leading out of your home. Fortunately, there are ways to combat this tendency.
When you aren’t burning, you should keep the dampener shut tight on your stove. This will close the airway between your chimney and your house keeping normal warm air in, closing off its escape and keeping your energy where it belongs—though if you are allowing the fire to burn down for the night you will need to leave the dampener cracked so the smoke does not backlog into the home. Also, sealing glass or metal doors will act the same way.
Make sure to use hardwoods seasoned for a period of at least two years. This will ensure that the wood is dry and no longer green. Green, moist wood actually suppresses the burning process, keeping the flame low and cold and limiting the amount of energy you receive. While organizing a system to store and dry the wood is time consuming and requires foresight, the payoff will keep your stove going much longer.