14 Bright Ideas for a Better Wood Stove

This unit combines the firebox of a traditional stove with the internal stack of a rocket heater. Wood feeds through a horizontal tube into a primary combustion chamber. Hot, turbulent gasses enter a second vertical combustion chamber, after which heat extraction occurs. Half the heat surrounds the secondary chamber, while the rest enters a granite-filled area for delayed release.

Stove type and construction: Masonry standalone
Firebox size: Medium
Projected retail price: TBD
Team captain: Sandy Mathieu

The IntensiFire is a low-cost downdraft retrofitted stove designed to improve combustion by up to 60 percent. It adds the benefits of secondary combustion air to older units; the cost of the retrofit will likely be around the same as that of a replacement baffle, which would no longer be required.

Stove type and construction: Retrofitted stove
Firebox size: N/A
Projected retail price: $
Team captain: Jason Stewart

The Gymse showcases the inherent qualities of a masonry heater, including a user-friendly design, highly efficient burns that are also clean, and 24 hours of heat from a single fire. This stove is compatible with any size chimney flue, and it can be constructed from clay and almost any kind of stone.

Stove type and construction: Masonry site-built
Firebox size: Large
Projected retail price: $$$$
Team captain: Lars Helbro

The Hwam Autopilot's Intelligent Heat System measures combustion conditions through the use of a lambda oxygen sensor and a thermocouple. An onboard computer then allocates combustion air to achieve the best possible burn. Temperature can be set with a remote control. Already on the market, this stove meets European Eco-label standards.

Stove type and construction: Cast-iron stand-alone
Firebox size: Medium
Projected retail price: $$$
Team captain: Stephen Rhodes

The 2B4W is a masonry heater that can be built from recycled materials. It consists of two decommissioned steel oil barrels stacked on top of one other. Heat is stored in high-density firebrick and will radiate for up to 24 hours when fired twice a day at a high burn rate. A combustion control system helps reduce operator error, and the exterior can be decorated with a localized motif.

Stove type and construction: Masonry, site-built
Firebox size: Medium
Projected retail price: $$
Team captain: Rod Zander

The Kimberly Stove is a portable gasifier unit that features a thermoelectric generator, hot water coils, an oven, and a 12-volt blower system. Measuring 25-1/2 inches tall with a 10-inch diameter and weighing 56 pounds, it's small enough to fit in a boat or RV. The Kimberly is constructed almost entirely of stainless steel, except for the door glass and gasket materials.

Stove type and construction: Portable stand-alone
Firebox size: Small
Projected retail price: $$
Team captain: Roger M. Lehet

The Mulciber features automated heat recovery, ventilation, and burn-control systems that respond to changes in the burning environment and then control airflow to maintain ideal combustion conditions. A coaxial inlet collects excess heat that would otherwise go out the chimney, while thermoelectric generators power fans that circulate heat throughout the room.

Stove type and construction: Steel, stand-alone
Firebox size: Large
Projected retail price: $
Team captain: Taylor Myers

Though based on a traditional European Kacheloefen design, this stove integrates a modern combustion chamber similar to those that have satisfied Austrian Eco-label requirements. It achieves low emissions by controlling air movement throughout the stove. Air passes through a tight baffle/damper located in the stove's base and then enters the combustion chamber through slots.

Stove type and construction: Masonry tile, site-built
Firebox size: Large
Projected retail price: $$$$
Team captain: Richard Jussel

The SmartStove is an automated system that analyzes the burn and then physically operates draft and fan controls to manipulate the amount of air entering a stove. This maximizes combustion, reducing the need for the user to constantly make adjustments in order to keep a fire burning efficiently. The SmartStove combines electronics and firmware developed specifically for cordwood appliances.

Stove type and construction: Retrofitted stove
Firebox size: N/A
Projected retail price: $
Team captain: Dan McFarland

The Cape Cod is a hybrid of catalytic and non-catalytic technologies. Already in production, this cast-iron stove is 80 percent efficient and produces 0.45 grams per hour of emissions, making it the cleanest unit on the EPA's list of certified wood stoves. Preheated combustion air improves efficiency, while secondary air tubes and a catalytic combustor incinerate almost all remaining particulates.

Stove type and construction: Cast-iron, stand-alone
Firebox size: Large
Projected retail price: $$
Team captain: Alan Atemboski

This compact masonry stove can heat water and will burn either wood or pellets without electricity or additional equipment, though it will be tested for its cordwood-burning abilities only. It is built using soapstone, which retains heat and then releases it slowly. An efficient, low-emission unit, the Hiisi is designed to meet strict European emissions standards set for 2015.

Stove type and construction: Masonry, stand-alone
Firebox size: Small
Projected retail price: $$$$
Team captain: Jeremy Johnson
Team website: tulikivi.com

The Walker Stove combines rocket stove features with a highly insulated combustion core and secondary air injection to help achieve complete combustion. It is also designed to eliminate dangerous burns and chimney fires by decoupling the exhaust flue from the burn chamber. It can be installed as a stand-alone space heater or at the heart of a mass thermal storage system.

Stove type and construction: Hybrid rocket/masonry stove or stand-alone
Firebox size: N/A
Projected retail price: $
Team captain: Matt Remine

Originally designed to provide an efficient, cleaner-burning stove to developing countries, this double-chambered unit functions by way of gasification, a process that converts wood into carbon monoxide and hydrogen by reacting the raw material at high temperatures. This results in a gas mixture called wood gas, which is superheated and mixed with air in the lower chamber to achieve complete combustion.

Stove type and construction: Stand-alone double-chamber steel stove
Firebox size: Medium
Projected retail price: $$$$
Team captain: Niels Wittus

The Union Hybrid stove by Woodstock Soapstone employs secondary combustion and a catalytic combustor, along with a self-regulating air/fuel ratio designed to increase output and improve efficiency. The stove is built out of steel, cast iron, and soapstone, ensuring that it is durable and has a high thermal mass. The large firebox and high heat output make it a suitable primary heat source.

Stove type and construction: Steel/Cast-iron/soapstone stand-alone
Firebox size: Large
Projected retail price: $$
Team captain: Thomas Morrissey

The 14 finalists for the Wood Stove Design Challenge will be formally judged during a weeklong Wood Stove Decathlon at the National Mall in November, when a team of stove, air quality, and combustion experts will select the winning stove based on five criteria: emissions, efficiency, affordability, innovation, and ease of use.

Throughout the challenge we'll see plenty of innovation, but its impact could be insignificant unless we—the consumers—embrace clean-burning technology in meaningful numbers. And that's less likely to happen if next-generation stoves lack compelling benefits or are simply unappealing to the end user.

Here's where you can help. We'll present a separate People's Choice award to the stove you think is the most innovative. Maybe you value user friendliness most—or perhaps functionality, practicality, cost, or even aesthetics. Whatever your criteria for judging a low-emission, ultra-efficient wood stove, here's your chance to make your voice heard.