Highlights
- Outdoor wood boilers are an alternative and cost-efficient way to heat your home and provide hot water. They’re economically friendly and can easily be integrated into your home’s existing heating system.
- They work by burning wood inside a firebox, which is surrounded by a water jacket that absorbs heat. The water then passes through insulated pipes and into the building or house, where it moves through a heat exchanger and heats your space!
First, What is An Outdoor Wood Boiler?
An outdoor wood stove is more than its name would indicate. Yes, it’s a stove, but it’s really an alternative heat source that burns wood and wood-derived fuels to heat water. The water can then be circulated through insulated underground pipes into your home.
So, while it’s a hot water heater or “boiler”, unlike traditional wood stoves, these are outdoors, which minimizes indoor air pollution and reduces fire risks. They can save you money, are fun and efficient to operate, are more versatile (you can even heat multiple buildings!) and many other heating options.
How Outdoor Wood Boilers Work, Explained
An outdoor wood-burning boiler works by burning wood in a large firebox, where heat transfers to a water jacket surrounding the burning wood. This heated water is then pumped through thermally insulated underground pipes and into your home.
“Thermally insulated” is the scientific way of saying the pipes minimize heat loss, so when the water enters your house its temperature remains high. Now, inside the house, the heated water can be used for many things:
- Domestic hot water. The water goes through a heat exchanger at your water heater so you can have virtually never ending hot water to your sink, bathtub, or dishwasher.
- Home heating. The water can pass through a heat exchanger to heat your hot water “hydronic” heating system, or even for forced air heating systems.
- Anything you use hot water for! Heating pools, a hot tub, clearing snow, etc.
But what if the firebox runs out of fuel? Great question! Most outdoor furnaces require “stocking” only twice a day, or less, and almost all have an automatic backup heating system so that even if there’s a lack of wood fuel or the firebox goes cold, you never experience a heating crisis.
Pros and Cons of Wood Boilers
Let’s get some things straight out of the way.
Yes, an outdoor boiler needs regular maintenance and loading, unlike a centralized natural gas, electric, or oil boiler. You’ll also need to cover the initial cost and find a place to put it. And yes, you’ll need wood: you can use delivered well-seasoned wood, or chop your own wood, if that’s what you prefer.
Still, an outdoor furnace can bring your finances and your home some amazing benefits.
Saving Money
Wood is a cheap and renewable fuel. With rising energy prices around the country, this can mean a huge relief to your pockets, particularly if wood is abundant where you live. For those who might already be using a wood stove to heat the interior of their home, or for those with a hydronic hot water heating system in their home, an outdoor wood boiler can be an inexpensive upgrade.
Efficiency and Versatility
The modern outdoor wood furnace is highly efficient, produces little smoke, and is relatively inexpensive compared to the money you’ll save in the medium- to long-term.
You can find a variety of models to suit your needs and space, such as a conventional wood or pellet stove. For instance, we commonly install three different model lines of outdoor stoves with a range of features.
Safer and Environmentally-Friendly
Wood is generally more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels, as properly harvested wood is considered a carbon-neutral fuel.
There’s also the fact that they completely eliminate the risk of fire or carbon monoxide exposure evident with an indoor stove. Modern units, like those we sell, are equipped with safety measures to prevent overheating and other issues.
And even if anything happens, your stove is away from living spaces, ensuring your family’s safety.
What Highland Outdoor Stoves Can Do for You
Here at Highland Outdoor Stoves, we install top-of-the-line outdoor wood heaters for homes in the Shenandoah Valley and beyond. For nearly fifteen years we’ve been a leading supplier of outdoor boilers in Highland County, VA.
We can help with everything from providing new installations and replacing old heating units, to service and repair or cleaning work. Even if you just need to replace wood boiler parts, we’ve got you covered. As a token of our transparency, our boiler price list is up on our website!
Get in touch about your home heating needs today to learn more and get a free quote.
Back to all posts