ᐅ Wood-burning stove in a new build – What to consider?

Hello everyone,

We have built a KFW55 house and are now facing the choice of a wood stove. Underfloor heating with a heat pump and a horizontal ground loop collector is installed, no exhaust heat recovery system. There is no proper heat load calculation available, except for the one from the underfloor heating manufacturer. However, that can be ignored as it was created in a very general way. How all this will work in practice is still uncertain since we will only move in two weeks. The estimated flow temperature should be around 32°C (90°F).

The stove location is the open kitchen/living room area with 55 m² (592 ft²). A central controlled mechanical ventilation system is installed. The goal is to bridge the transitional seasons and create a cozy ambiance. No water-based stove is desired, and no masonry heater.

I was thinking about a 5 kW model – or is that already too much that it might overheat the room? With these conditions, do I even need to consider parameters like efficiency and similar factors, or does it not matter and I could just get a stove from a hardware store?

Reini1234 schrieb:

I was thinking about a 5kW model, or would that be too much and overheat the room? Do I even need to consider parameters like efficiency and similar factors with these specifications, or does it not matter and I can just get a hardware store stove?

In my opinion, buying based on appearance is completely sufficient. For atmosphere, you don’t need more power. It only gets really warm if your stove has a significant amount of thermal mass.

In new constructions, there is only one important thing to consider: the stove needs a lot of thermal mass! You won’t achieve this with hardware store units.

That’s why it should be built with masonry; otherwise, you’ll end up with a sauna-like environment, which is uncomfortable.

Masonry work starts at around 6,000 and can go up to 20,000. We paid 10,000.

Bookstar schrieb:

In new construction, there is only one thing to keep in mind: the stove requires a lot of thermal mass!

A lot of thermal mass means that a large amount of heat is absorbed and then released. That is what I aim for when I want to heat.
If I just want to enjoy a nice fire briefly and not have a sauna-like effect, I avoid using too much thermal mass. In that case, a store-bought stove starting at around 1,000€ is sufficient. And if you want to see a lot of fire, you choose a stove with a large firebox and a big glass door. These can be 12 kW and work very well from my own experience, without overheating the room.

Reini1234 schrieb:

Hello everyone,

We have built a KFW55 house and are now at the stage of choosing a wood stove. We have underfloor heating connected to a heat pump and a horizontal ground loop collector, but no exhaust heat recovery (EHR). There is no detailed heating load calculation available, except the one provided by the underfloor heating manufacturer. However, that calculation is pretty much useless because it was made using general assumptions. How all this will perform in practice is still unclear since we will only move in two weeks. The estimated flow temperature should be about 32°C (90°F).

The stove will be placed in the open kitchen/living room area, which is approximately 55 m² (590 ft²). There is a central mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery installed. The goal is to bridge the transition periods and create a cozy, “romantic” atmosphere. We do not want a hydronic stove, nor a masonry heater.

I was thinking of a 5 kW model—would that already be too much and potentially overheat the room? Given the setup, do I even need to consider parameters like efficiency and similar features, or can I just buy a stove from a hardware store?

In my experience, I have an 8.7 kW room air-independent stove in an open-plan layout (from the showroom to the basement, upper floor, and hallway without doors, so it’s all open), and the living space is about 55 m² (590 ft²). It doesn’t overheat at all. The highest temperature I have recorded inside after 4-5 hours was around 26°C (79°F). I believe this is due to the room-air independent design, since the stove is completely sealed and doesn’t release any hot air from gaps into the living space. Essentially, I only get radiant heat through the glass. Also, the strange grille on top is closed.

Do you have a fireplace with fresh air supply?
Have you installed a pressure monitor?
Have you talked to your chimney sweep?

We have a Justus Reno R, which is about the most expensive you can get at a hardware store and it’s from Oranjer. When we heat properly, we reach 26°C (79°F) in the basement and around 23°C (73°F) upstairs. We’ve never had more than that. The starting temperature is 20°C (68°F).

Talk to your chimney sweep.