One thing that became apparent in the recent European Elections was the arrival of the Green Wave. What has become clear is that we are now slowly becoming more aware of the need to rid ourselves, our planet and our future of our dependence on carbon and an obligation to look after our planet for the good of our children and their children.
Modern homes built to regulation are fast becoming very efficient. I still see builders vans with ‘specializing in A-Rated Homes’ on the side but this is no longer a sales pitch, it’s a requirement. We expect that all new homes are A Rated.
An A Energy Rated Home means that your new home is very well insulated from your floors, windows, walls and roofs. You likely have a low (good) Airtightness level and you probably have some form of managed mechanical ventilation (not just the noisy fans that you turn on if you are taking a shower!)
What does this mean for your living environment? Well, it means that though you likely have a heating system, it will be vastly more efficient than the systems of the past, it has a much higher level of control, and it is sending heat into a very well insulated home with negligenceable draught leakage. So all in all that efficient heat is created and controlled is largely maintained.
So the next question is what do you need a stove? A stove is a very clumsy heat source in one room only and it’s very difficult to control. It’s also fueled by our old friend, Carbon.
We all know that on a cold winters evening when the sky is grey and the rain is pelting off the windows that the warm glow of a stove is wonderful but this is really where this storey ends. So what is the future for stoves and our source of wellbeing during those long winter months?
I believe the next wave will be high-end electric stoves. They will have an excellent flame (effect) and little but nightly controllable heat. They will cost a fraction of what solid fuel stove cost to buy, fit, fuel and maintain. They will provide the warm glow on those dreary winter evenings without having to brave the elements in search of carbon to fuel a heat you don’t need.
So what’s stopping us? It’s of course ourselves. Man has been enjoying the refuge of natural flame since time began. We have so many positive associations with a warm fire. It’s our security blanket.
This will be the challenge for high-end electric stove designers. How to lift us from our carbon feasting. It wouldn’t be the first time we have had to rethink how our caves are fueled. We switched from candles to the electric light bulb generations ago!