A wood burning stove is an excellent component of your Puglian winter heating solution.  Not only do they look good, but the right stove can provide superb warmth and help to dry the air.

Wood is the cheapest source of energy for space heating in the home - approximately a fifth of the cost of electricity per kw/hour.  The chances are that you will even have free wood available to you if you have olive and other trees to prune.  Burning wood is also carbon neutral - by burning it you will produce the same amount of CO² as it would if it was left to decompose.  What's more, during its life a tree will have provided twenty times more oxygen than is required for combustion, and absorbed three times as much CO² than will be released during combustion.

Burning wood in an open fire however is extremely wasteful.  Up to 90% of the heat generated is lost up the chimney, and it even draws warm air out of the room.  Also, there is significant heat loss when the fire is not lit as the warm air rises up the open chimney.  A wood burning stove seals the chimney to prevent this loss, and directs far more heat into the room.

We had owned a Clearview stove before moving to Italy and loved their quality and efficiency, so brought one to Puglia with us.  Since then so many people who came to our house were impressed with the heat and the look that we negotiated the distribution and service rights for the area.  They are extremely clean burning and their unique air wash system keeps the glass clean to provide a more attractive fire.  They have primary and secondary air burning which provides extra heat as well as a fantastic flame.  A Clearview can also be fitted with a back boiler to provide hot water to your heating system.

Having installed an Italian thermo-camino in another property, we are even more convinced that a Clearview stove is the best solution.