Inception by Emit Clasalle

Many people have fond memories of fireplaces from their childhood in the country, or from curling up in a ski resort on a blustery night. But fireplaces are inefficient and require a large amount of fuel to maintain their blaze. For those who want to capture that ambiance while also contributing noticeably to the temperature in their house (and cutting a fat chunk from their heating bill in the same stroke), the modern wood burning stoves are the way to go.

Wood stoves have changed quite a bit from the old cast-iron cookers many people think of, although that style and appearance is still readily available for anyone who wants to keep a retro look to their den. The modern fixtures come in a variety of looks and sizes, including many with glass planes to mimic the look of a fireplace or others that actually fit inside the fireplace you may already have installed.

By using carefully designed air flow and heating levels modern stoves manage to take the maximum amount of energy from the minimum amount of wood. This efficiency means that your wood pile will hold out a lot longer even as your house is a lot warmer. It also means that the money you spend on your stove will be returned much faster as savings in heating costs.

But, besides energy costs, much of the advantage of wood stoves resides in the emotional value a warm hearth holds. A wood stove, like a hot little heartbeat, often tends to become the center of a household, as cats will curl up nearby, students will do their homework near the warmth, and books and movies take on a special romantic color from the flickering crackling blaze nearby.