Wood burning inserts, stoves and furnaces have been with us for many years. and if anything show no signs of losing their popularity anytime soon. Although gas burning models are popular in urban areas where there is natural gas, more rural areas still prefer to burn wood products.

The concern about operating & installing wood burning products stems from the fact that in years past there was little or no standards to rely on. The building code did address some issues but it was not thorough enough to cover all situations. Hence, a standard called CSA B365 was developed by a number of industry leaders that covers the installations of most types of (solid) wood burning appliances & equipment. It is a very thorough guide that spells out location, clearances, where liners are required, recommended procedures and references to other standards.

As there were situations where in the past wood products were installed incorrectly or not maintained, fires and unsafe situations were created. Lives were lost. Property was damaged.

Insurance companies which were expected to cover these losses also noticed that the costs & risk to insure a wood burning product were higher than for other heating & hearth products.

Fire depts. pushed for better regulations and a more defined guideline for the installations of wood products.

As a result today, wood burning systems can be installed & operated with complete confidence when installed in accordance to this standard.

What about all the older stuff out there? Well, although years ago the standard did not exist and the Fishers & Lakewood stoves & many others got installed it does not necessarily mean that they are installed safely in accordance with our modern installation code B365-01 (CSA).

What does this all mean? Well, most insurance companies as well as fire depts.. are insisting now that these installations (as well as new installations) that do not meet current code standards, be brought up to the new standards.

Insurance companies can't issue a cease & desist order but they can cancel your insurance policy leaving you with no coverage.

Fire depts. have more enforcement measures available and can issue an order to stop using an unsafe device until measures are taken to correct them. They then usually will re-inspect them, after the deficiencies are fixed.

So this situation has put many homeowners in a situation, do they take expensive measures to comply with older equipment or buy newer wood burning systems that allow for closer installation to combustible materials. What I see is most prefer to upgrade to newer appliances, which are efficient and emit far less smoke.

A training & industry body called WETI' known as Wood Energy Technology Transfer or Training Facility conducts regular new and upgrade courses. Companies and individuals that are WETT certified should be used when ever new wood burning & upgrading existing installations. These people have a thorough knowledge of the B365-01 standard and most insurance companies recognize the certification. The hope eventually will be to make it mandatory to have this certification much the same as in natural gas and oil fired installations, so that people will have the confidence that products are installed safely and chimneys that are part of the flue system have been inspected and also are installed right.

Wood burning appliances & furnaces when installed correctly are very safe and emit a warmth and ambiance that is hard to beat. The Comfort Shoppe sells a large selection of products matched to your lifestyle. Please come in today.