Wood Heating Appliances and Advice
Firewood is a traditional, renewable source of heat in Nova Scotia, and usually the cheapest heating fuel available.
Although carbon dioxide, a serious greenhouse gas, is produced during the burning of firewood, since new tree growth absorbs carbon dioxide, firewood is considered to be a greenhouse gas neutral, and not a contributor to climate change.
Heating your home with wood ensures that you are supporting an industry that employs many Nova Scotians, uses a renewable, indigenous fuel, is one of the solutions to reducing the effects of climate change, and ensures that most of the money generated stays within Nova Scotia.
But wood heating only works well if you carefully prepare and burn your wood, use a high-efficiency wood stove/pellet stove, use correct burning techniques, and practice regular maintenance to ensure safety of you and your family.
You can find a myriad of useful consumer information and tips related to the purchase, installation and operation of woodstoves, including the purchase, preparation, and proper use of firewood, etc. below:
Burn it Hot Brochure [802KB PDF]
Buying and Measuring Stacked Firewood Brochure [437KB PDF]
Buying and Storing your Winter's Wood Brochure [135KB PDF]
For more material on wood burning in Nova Scotia, please call us at 902-424-5364 or contact Conserve Nova Scotia at 902-424-0790.
- If you have a technical question on wood heating, please call Conserve Nova Scotia's EnerInfo Hotline at 1-800-670-4636, or visit their website.
- If you are looking for a qualified installer, chimney sweep or inspector near you, visit the website of Wood Energy Technology Transfer Inc. (WETT), www.wettinc.ca
- To find practical, non-commercial information on using wood for heating, go to www.woodheat.org
Information for Wood Heating Industry
Since the fall of 2008, it is illegal to sell any wood stoves in Nova Scotia that are not EPA-certified for efficiency and emissions.
This new regulation appears under the Energy-efficient Appliances Act managed by Mr. Donald Dodge of Conserve Nova Scotia.
If you are working in the wood heating industry as an installer, inspector, fire safety official, chimney sweep or salesperson and wish to obtain more information on WETT (Wood Energy Technical Training) certification, contact the local WETT association, Wood Energy Technicians of Nova Scotia (WET-NS), at 902-477-4521 or e-mail at: wet_ns@ns.aliantzinc.ca