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A great wood stove is like the perfect life partner: it makes you feel warm inside and out, while being romantic, reliable and low-maintenance. It’s also environmentally friendly and economical. Whether you want to heat your entire house or warm up a room, choosing the right wood stove makes all the difference. Here’s what you need to know before committing.

Will Mother Approve?
If you care about the environment, you’ll be happy to know that wood heat is a sustainable option. The Alliance for Green Heat estimates that installing an efficient wood or pellet stove in a single-family home can keep between two and four tons of carbon out of the air every year. But you’ll win Mother Nature’s approval only if you choose the right stove, have it properly installed and learn the best burn practices.

Hot Stuff
Wood stoves crank out between 35,000 and 100,000-plus BTUs (British Thermal Units) per hour. Figure about 35 BTUs for every square foot of space you want to heat, so a 1,200-square-foot ranch home would require a stove that produces about 42,000 BTUs.

Does Size Matter?
“Don’t be dazzled by all the numbers that get tossed around,” advises John Gulland, co-founder of the Wood Heat Organization, Inc., in Ontario, Canada. It’s easy to get bogged down comparing BTU output and other criteria, but “there’s a fairly narrow spread in efficiency” between the highest- and lowest-rated stoves, according to Gulland.

He suggests following a simple rule of thumb to determine the size of your wood stove. Choose a small stove to heat a cabin or large room, a medium stove to heat a small-to-medium-sized, well-insulated house and a large one for heating a big or drafty house.

Keep in mind that bigger isn’t necessarily better. A wood stove that’s too big not only overheats your space, it can also be inefficient and more polluting because you may need to run it below its optimal operating capacity.

Know Your Type
Wood stove innards changed dramatically after the EPA set new performance standards in 1988 to reduce air pollution from wood smoke. Certified wood stoves emit 7 0% less pollution (aka smoke) than pre-1990 models.

Today’s wood stoves come in two varieties: catalytic or non-catalytic. Catalytic stoves burn cleaner and produce a long, even heat, but are generally costlier and need more daily and lifetime maintenance. They’re a good choice for techies who like to tinker to optimize performance and die-hard environmentalists who want to curb the maximum amount of wood-smoke emissions. Non-catalytic models are generally less expensive and easier to operate.

Use a Matchmaker
There are many other considerations in finding the right wood stove. Mostly it comes down to your priorities. Fortunately, there are organizations out there to help you determine these. The Alliance for Green Heat, for example, provides a comprehensive checklist of questions—from environmental concerns to safety and cost—to help you zero in on your choices and match you with the best wood stove for your needs.

Avoid Blind Dates
Once you’ve determined your basic heating needs and type preference, its time to find the one. Gulland says the biggest mistake people make is trying to get a deal by shopping for a wood stove online. “We get a lot of e-mail from people who tried to do that and are now having issues and are desperate for help, but by then it is often too late.”

Instead, he recommends finding a reputable dealer in your area who also can provide installation, troubleshooting and maintenance. Also, it might be instructive to ask your dealer what kind of wood stove he or she uses at home, Gulland suggests.

Materials also affect the cost of wood stoves. Welded steel models are the most popular choice and Gulland says good-quality steel stoves are now just as durable as cast-iron ones because all of the heat-stressed parts are replaceable. Stone vs. metal is mainly a matter of aesthetics. Although soapstone can be a pricier option, some people just can't help swooning over its looks.

Money Can Buy You Love
New wood stoves can cost between $2,000 and $3,500, plus installation. That’s not cheap—and prices can run even higher. Fortunately, the federal government offers a tax credit (see below) that goes up to $1,500 to help defray costs.

Even better news is that your stove should easily pay for itself after a short time. The Energy Information Administration’s Heating Fuel Comparison Calculator (XLS) estimates that it costs $9.09 to produce one million BTUs from cord wood, compared to $16.44 from oil. Through such savings, the right wood stove can cut heating costs by up to 40%, according to experts. That’s a very attractive number.

Get Uncle Sam's Help
The federal government is offering a 30% tax credit on EPA-certified wood stoves until December 31, 2010. Some states also offer deals through wood stove change-out programs that aim to slash air pollution. These initiatives give rebates, discounts and loans to encourage homeowners to replace their old polluting stoves with newer efficient models.

Avoid Long-Distance Relationships
The most important consideration in getting the most out of your wood stove over the long haul is “…location, location, location,” according to Gulland. “Many people put wood stoves in their basements and then try unsuccessfully to get the heat upstairs, where they live.” He advises locating your wood stove in the place where you spend most of your time and want to be warmest.

All in all, wood heat is a romantic, affordable and sustainable option. Now that’s something to feel really good about while you’re cozying up to the fire.

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