Fireplaces as the main heat source
The use of wood-burning stoves in Canada and the northern US is driven by real practical needs. People simply need to keep warm.
On a continent with much harsher winters than in Europe, apart from northern Scandinavia, a wood-burning stove is an important heat source for many people. For example, 350,000 households or 35% of non-urban households in the Canadian province of Ontario use wood as a heat source some or all of the time.
The difference between the continents can be understood best by comparing the product descriptions for some of Canadian company Regency’s products with that for one of NIBE Stoves’ bestsellers in the Nordic region, Contura 500. Regency’s stove sizes are given based on room size and using the BTU, British Thermal Unit, as a measure of output.
As they say in Canada, you light the fire in October and it burns until April.
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Regency® Pro-Series F5100 Wood Stove, 80,000 BTU = 23 kW. You can now insert a 55 cm log, and a 40 kg load produces a burn time of up to 30 hours!
Nordiska Contura 500 has an output of 5 kW, can take 33 cm logs and has a burn time of 1-2 hours.
An article in the Toronto Star reflects the role of wood-burning stoves well:
“It’s the end of the working week and you still have a long walk home in the dark, with the wind throwing hard snowflakes, like pellets, in your face. But once home you can relax. With a cup of tea or a glass of wine and the ultimate in winter comfort, a log in a wood-burning stove.”