The Benefits Of An Ecofan For Your Stove
Posted by Dan, Celtic Sustainables on 13th Nov 2024
A stove fan is a simple, eco-friendly addition to any stove that maximizes warmth
and comfort. Powered entirely by the heat of the stove, it efficiently
circulates warm air throughout the room without requiring any electricity. By
evenly distributing heat, a stove fan helps maintain a comfortable temperature
across your space, reducing cold spots and letting you make the most of your
fuel. With a stove fan, you can enjoy a cozy, energy-efficient environment
while potentially lowering heating costs - perfect for anyone looking to enhance
comfort and save energy.
The Benefits of an Ecofan for your stove:
Eco Stove Fans, or heat-powered stove fans, are small, energy-efficient devices that are placed on top of wood stoves. The fans are powered by the heat from your stove; they don’t need any external power source to function.
Here are eight key benefits of using an eco stove fan:
- Improves Heat Distribution
Stove fans help circulate warm air throughout the room, preventing heat from rising to the ceiling and staying close to the stove. This results in a more even temperature across the space, making your living area feel warmer and more comfortable without needing to turn up the heat.
- Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings
Improve the heat distribution of your stove to reduce your reliance on other heating sources. This could also result in possible fuel savings as you get more efficiency from your fuel source. Stove fans can also reduce energy costs over time.
- No Electricity Needed
Eco stove fans are powered by the heat from the stove, meaning they don't need any electricity or batteries to operate. This makes them ideal for off-grid cabins or areas prone to power outages. They also help reduce overall energy consumption, making them an eco-friendly choice.
- Quiet Operation
Most eco stove fans operate quietly, unlike electric-powered fans, which can be noisy. This allows you to enjoy the warmth of your stove without extra noise, which is especially lovely in cosy or relaxing settings.
- Easy to Use and Maintain
These fans require very little maintenance and are very easy to use. Just pop your fan on your stove as directed, and you’re good to go-no cables, no batteries. All you need is a hot stove, and the fans work automatically.
- Eco-Friendly Heating Solution
Eco stove fans reduce your overall environmental footprint, making them a sustainable choice for heating, as they don't consume electricity and allow you to get the most out of your stove’s heat.
- Safer Heat Management
Better airflow means less chance of hot spots forming around the stove, which can reduce the risk of burns or overheating in one area. This helps create a safer environment, especially for children or pets in the home.
- Replacement Motor
Eco fans we stock have replacement motors available should you find you need a new motor, meaning your fan can keep working at its most efficient for as long as you need. Eco stove fans are a great partner for your stove if you want to maximise warmth while keeping energy usage and costs down. - Ensure the Ecofan handle is upright before placing on the stove.
- While
in use, the base of the Ecofan is very hot, when repositioning always use
the handle.
- The Caframo Ecofan is a heat-powered fan designed to circulate the warm air created by a wood or speciality stove. Improved warm air circulation results in greater comfort and less fuel consumption.
- Costs nothing to run… Using the heat from the stove, the Ecofan is the most economical way to effectively circulate warm air.
- Test results using AMCA testing standards prove that most air flow claims made by other stove top fan manufacturers are much lower than publicised, some by as much as 45%.
- Ecofan's last longer because they are made in Canada, utilise a superior design that operates more efficiently and effectively than 4 or 5 blade models and is the only fan with a user serviceable replacement motor.
- Sold with 2-year warranty.
- Fully CE compliant. None of the Chinese copy stove fans meet this approval despite what is printed on the boxes or their importers claims.
How do Stove fans work?
The Ecofan is used on freestanding stoves with normal surface temperatures of 85°C - 345°C. Temperatures above 345°C may damage your Ecofan. Relocate your Ecofan to a cooler spot on your stove if the surface temperature exceeds 345°C. Good wood stove practice includes using a stove thermometer.
Ecofans use thermoelectric technology to convert a temperature difference into electricity. At the centre of an Ecofan is a unique thermoelectric module. The patented Ecofan design creates a hot side and a cold side on the module. When this happens, a principle called the “Seebeck Effect” causes electrons to flow within the module, and electricity is generated to operate the fan!
Getting the Most From Your Ecofan
For optimum performance, placement on the stove's surface is critical to allow cooler air to be drawn over the cooling fins. Place the Ecofan at the back corner of the stove as shown on the diagram. Should the gap between the Ecofan and the back wall be less than 150mm (6") then move the Ecofan forward along the side of your stove and turn it in slightly. This should ensure the fan can draw the necessary cool air from the rear/side of the stove. The Ecofan should not be used directly in front of the stove pipe or at the front of the stove as this will lead to reduced performance.
Why Buy a Genuine Ecofan from us?
Which Ecofan do you need?
Follow the link below for a guide to choosing the correct Ecofan size for your stove:
https://www.ecofan.co.uk/which-wood-stove-ecofan.html
Follow the link below to purchase an Ecofan, along with replacement motors:
https://www.celticsustainables.co.uk/caframo/
Why not try Flamers when lighting your fire?
Whether you're lighting an open fire or a wood-burning stove, getting the fire started quickly and easily is essential. Minimizing particulate emissions is especially important, and the lighting stage plays a major role in this. To reduce emissions, it's crucial to follow your manufacturer's instructions, focusing on heating the flue rapidly to improve draft and ignition. Keep the door slightly open to allow more airflow and encourage the fire to establish itself.
Made from wood wool, dipped in a candle wax, only one is needed to light the fire. Flamers are natural, odourless, clean and convenient, and easy to light.
How should you light a fire
Many stove manufacturers recommend using Flamers for fire lighting, and while there are various methods to get a fire going, each with unique variations, we have shifted our preference to the "Top down" approach. In this method, you place larger logs at the bottom, with kindling and a Flamer firelighter on top. This approach heats the flue faster, results in more efficient lighting, and helps lower emissions compared to the traditional method of placing kindling and firelighter at the bottom with smaller logs on top.
How to use Flamers
Here is a guide from Flamers of how to light your fire in
the most effective ways:
“There are of course many different ways to light a fire and everyone has
their own slight variation and whilst we have always recommended the
traditional way of firelighting with kindling and firelighter at the bottom
with smaller logs on top, we now favour the new ‘Top down’ method with logs on
the base and kindling and Flamer on top. This helps to heat the flue faster and
provides more efficient lighting with lower emissions.”
Take a look at the infographics below for a visual guide:
