ᐅ Preparations for a Wood-Burning Stove with Water Heating

Hello everyone,

We are currently planning our new build and want to keep the option open to install a wood-burning stove later that can support the hot water supply.

Our heating system (gas condensing boiler and solar thermal system with a 300L (79 gallon) storage tank) will be located in the attic, and the wood stove would be installed in the living room on the ground floor. A ventilation system with heat recovery will also be placed in the attic, with the ventilation ducts running in a separate shaft next to the chimney.

What can I do now to at least prepare for the future installation of a wood stove with water heating?

- Are there empty conduits or sleeves that I could install now?
- An access panel behind the intended stove location?
… ?

Why?!

What savings do you expect to justify the extra effort, even in the slightest?

Our hot water costs are under €10 per month – even installing empty conduit pipes isn't worth it.

So far, we have only looked into cost/benefit aspects at a superficial level. Since these probably do not fit into our budget at the moment, we want to at least make preparations so that later on, it won't be a case of "if only we had..."

Four copper pipes need to be installed at the location where the chimney will be placed later. Two of them must lead to the storage tank. One to the cold water supply and one to the drain pipe.

The two pipes going to the storage tank are the actual circulation pipes. In case of a power outage or pump failure, the chimney must be able to be cooled with cold water. The wastewater is discharged into the sewer system.

The pipes must have hot water insulation, similar to solar thermal systems.

A 300L (79 US gallons) storage tank is very small for this purpose.

Thanks for the information!

The hot water storage tank will be installed above the solar system on the roof. We were told that it should easily be sufficient for a family of four.

Sure, 150 liters for a two-person household without solar panels, 300 liters for a four- to five-person household with two solar collectors.
Discuss this with your architect and heating specialists.
The energy has to go somewhere, and whether 300 liters is enough for that—I’m not sure. You might want to talk to a fireplace seller, possibly about a small fireplace with a hot water jacket that delivers around 60% of the heat into the room and 40% as hot water. I don’t want to give you incorrect information here.