Stove Heating

a type of domestic heating in which premises are heated by stoves. Because of the simplicity of the equipment and the possibility of using various locally available fuels, stove heating became widespread in various countries and has been used for centuries.

The main components of a heating stove are the firebox, in which the fuel is burned; the gas flues, through which the hot gases from the firebox pass; and the chimney. The heat produced in the stove by combustion of the fuel is transmitted to the room through the walls of the firebox and the gas flues; the cooled gases are carried to the outside by the chimney. The walls of the firebox and gas flues may have a brick lining, or they may be made of heat-resistant concrete, ceramics, or other refractory materials. The outer surfaces of the stove, which release the heat into the room, may be plastered or covered with tile, steel sheets, or sheets of asbestos cement.

There are two main types of modern heating stoves: those for periodic operation and those for continuous or long-term firing. Stoves for periodic operation are fired once or twice daily, with prolonged interruptions between firings. The stove cools down during interruptions, and its heat release is nonuniform over the course of the day. Stoves for long-term firing can operate for several days when loaded with a sufficient quantity of fuel. Such stoves use only certain kinds of fuel—for example, graded coal or liquid or briquetted fuel.

The “Russian stove” is widely used in the USSR, particularly in rural areas. It is of simple design and can be used for room heating, cooking, or baking.

Stove heating is used mainly in low-rise buildings in areas not served by central heating. The advantages of stove heating are the comparatively low cost of building and installation and the presence of ventilation, or air exchange (when the stove is fired, the inside air is consumed in the combustion of fuel and is replaced by fresh outside air that enters the building through leaks in the enclosing structure).

Among the disadvantages of stove heating are low efficiency (an average of less than 60 percent); nonuniformity and marked daily fluctuation of the air temperature in the premises being heated (mainly in the case of periodic-operation stoves); the loss of usable floor area occupied by the stoves; contamination of the rooms by fuel, slag, and ash; and the danger of fire. These disadvantages limit the use of stove heating in modern residential and office buildings. In many existing buildings stove heating is being replaced by central heating.