In a few days we will officially be in winter. As if the weather wanted to celebrate this change of season, the forecasts announce the first snowfalls on the mountain ranges and negative temperatures in many regions of France.
So, to keep warm, millions of French people use wood. According to ADEME, these are 7.5 million households who, every winter, light chimney fires. While this heating method has many advantages, it also has some drawbacks.
In order to improve and modernize it, pellet stoves appeared a few years ago. With this solution, manufacturers promise more efficient, more economical heating and above all, they solve in one fell swoop the biggest problem with wood heating: the question of storing and handling logs.
Transform your fireplace into a pellet stove
While using a pellet stove may give you something to be excited about, you should know that it is not necessarily necessary to buy a whole stove. If you are already equipped, like millions of French people, with a fireplace, it can be “transformed”.
To do this, simply purchase a “pellet burner basket”. Built in steel or cast iron, it will fit into the hearth of your fireplace. It will then no longer be necessary to use large logs to make your fire, but only pellets, which you will feed manually to keep the fire alive.
An additional solution
Be careful though before checking out, using a “burner basket” allows you to transform your fireplace, but considerably reduces its power. The manufacturers are very clear, the “burner basket” is a very good “additional heater”, but it does not keep an entire house warm.
“Burner baskets” are therefore primarily designed for homes which already have a heating system, but which is supplemented on harsh, cold winter nights by a small chimney fire? Manufacturers also praise the ease of use of these baskets compared to a traditional fireplace.
With such an installation, wood storage and handling will become nothing more than distant memories. You will simply need to keep bags of pellets on hand, generally light enough (between 8 and 15 kilograms) to feed your basket and maintain combustion for several hours.
An economical option
“Burner baskets” do not cost very much to purchase and are even sold as being profitable in the long term. Manufacturers assure that the cost of heating is reduced using this method. If you want to try “burner baskets” this winter, several models exist for less than €50. The Imex brand model, sold for €38, is the best rated on Amazon with 4 stars (out of 5 possible) for more than 2,700 reviews.
You can find out in detail here.
