Winter is the best season to get cosy with your dear ones inside your home. Wood heaters provide excellent warmth to keep you and your family comfortable when the mercury dips. Buying the perfect wood heater is imperative to keep your home warm and cosy. For that, you need to consider the size, space and layout of your home so that you can narrow down the wood heating style that provides suitable heat coverage. This handy guide will help you to select the best-suited wood heater for your home.

The choice of wood heaters include freestanding and inbuilt, and you can select the best-suited heating style depending on the available space and heat coverage.

Freestanding Wood Heaters

A freestanding wood heater is the best solution if you do not have an existing fireplace. From the classic old-fashioned wood stoves, the design of freestanding wood heaters have improved radically and looks ultra-modern today. The installation of a freestanding wood heater involves very little structural work. Whether you select a rustic, traditional, modern or sleek design, your freestanding wood heater can effortlessly create a centre of attraction for your living space.

Inbuilt Wood Heaters (Zero Clearance or Inserts)

Inbuilt wood heaters allow you to enjoy a warm room without the need to transmit heat through the chimney. Compared to an open brick fireplace, inbuilt wood heaters are designed as a modern energy-efficient option. If your home already has a brick fireplace, upgrading with an inbuilt insert heater is an option.

Nonetheless, if you prefer the look of a built-in fireplace and do not already have an existing brick fireplace, considering a zero clearance heater is an option. With a zero clearance box, you can transform any empty wall with minimal structural impact by allowing you to build within a combustible framework or wall. It provides you with the flexibility of placing your heater as your room focal point while maximising heat distribution and airflow.

If you use other heating appliances with a wood heater or your home has good insulation, you would not require a powerful heater.

Radiant Heaters

All sides of the firebox are open in radiant wood heaters, which helps the heater release heat at a steady rate. Radiant heaters are designed for heating homes having large open spaces and high ceilings, including stretch out living areas or open-plan homes.

Convection Heaters

Convection wood heaters are designed with an air hollow between the firebox and the outer shield. When the wood burns, the air in the hollow heats, spreads and rises. The convection heater outer cover then pulls more air in from the bottom, releasing the warm air out from the heater top part. An efficient burning convection heater produces more than three cubic metres of heated air per minute, making convection heaters perfect for different room sizes or abodes having standard ceiling heights.

Buy Wood Heaters that are Certified

All wood heaters are not the same. While shopping online or from a retail outlet, you should always check that the heater you want to purchase adheres to the Australian standards AS/NZS 4012, 4013 and 2918. Heaters complying with these standards are designed for Australian firewood and Australian conditions.

If you’re buying from a retail outlet, you’ll find a compliance plate displaying AS/NZS 4012 or 4013. If you’re buying a fireplace online, you can check for this certification on the Australian Home Heating Association official website.

Wood Heater Installation

Identified your perfect heater, you need to know the vital installation considerations. Wood heater installation should follow the strict Australian standard AS/NZS 2918, local building regulations and specific manufacturer instructions. A qualified and experienced fireplace installer should only install a wood heater. If you’re installing a wood heater for the first time, you should check the terms and conditions of your home insurance, and a qualified installer can run you through the installation conditions based on the type of your home.

Get In Touch

Are you browsing online for buying your next fireplace? Check out the range offered by Fireplace Masters, which includes wood, gas and electric powered fireplaces and outdoor fireplaces of the prominent brands at the best prices. Brands include Regency, Kent, Quadra Fire, Pacific Energy, Nectre, Masport, Heatmaster and many more. Should you have any queries, please feel free to contact us at Fireplace Masters on 02 4257 5493, and we will be delighted to assist you!