If you have landed on this page, you are interested in purchasing a wood stove. However, you are wondering how much power your stove needs. In this article, we explain which factors play a role and how many kW your stove should have.
Let’s first explain why it is important to choose a wood stove with the right power. It is obvious that if a stove has too little power, it will not be able to heat the room sufficiently. In other words, you will be cold in the winter.
But a stove with too much power is also not ideal. Firstly, the room will become too warm, and secondly, your stove will not burn efficiently. This is called smoldering, which can lead to incomplete combustion.
When determining the required power of your stove, we must first establish whether you want to use it as primary heating or supplementary heating. If a stove serves as the main heating source, you logically need more power than if it functions as supplementary heating (and for ambiance).
Additionally, the thermal insulation, or heat insulation, of the space(s) or home plays a role in calculating how many kW your stove needs to heat sufficiently. A well-insulated space or home requires a less powerful stove than a poorly insulated one. The better the insulation, the less kW you need.
Finally, the size of the space(s) is an important factor in calculating how much power your wood stove should have. The larger the space, the more power you need to heat it.
Now that we know all the factors, we will calculate how much power your wood stove needs for your situation. The power of a stove is expressed in kilowatts, often abbreviated as kW. You can find this in the specifications of a stove. With our wood stoves, you can see the minimum and maximum power for each model.
This question is frequently asked in our showroom, but it is not the right question. To calculate how much power you need, you should not consider the surface area but the volume of the space(s).
Calculate the length x width x height of the space(s) you want to heat. Using the table below, you can see a power indication for your situation. We have distinguished between a poorly, moderately, and well-insulated space. This assumes that you use a wood stove as primary heating.
| Space | Poorly insultated | Moderately insulated | Well insultated |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 m³ | 3,0 kW | 2,4 kW | 1,8 kW |
| 40 m³ | 4,0 kW | 3,2 kW | 2,4 kW |
| 50 m³ | 5,0 kW | 4,0 kW | 3,0 kW |
| 60 m³ | 6,0 kW | 4,8 kW | 3,6 kW |
| 70 m³ | 7,0 kW | 5,6 kW | 4,4 kW |
| 80 m³ | 8,0 kW | 6,4 kW | 4,8 kW |
| 100 m³ | 10,0 kW | 8,0 kW | 6,0 kW |
| 120 m³ | 12,0 kW | 9,6 kW | 7,2 kW |
| 140 m³ | 14,0 kW | 11,2 kW | 8,4 kW |
| 160 m³ | 16,0 kW | 12,8 kW | 9,6 kW |
The above figures should be taken as an estimate rather than an exact calculation, as every space is different. Would you like more advice for your situation? Feel free to contact us! You can also schedule an appointment in our showroom.