With the annual costs of energy on the rise, outdoor wood boilers are no longer a part of the past but instead they are becoming more and more the future of heating many homes, shops and businesses. Wood boilers are actually a tank surrounding a firebox that heat water to heat your home. Many of the outdoor boilers are made look like a small utility shed with a short smoke stack. The problem is that they often are not the great home heating appliance that they are promoted to be.

The main problem is in the fundamental design of an outdoor wood boiler which encourages a cooler fire to maximize the transfer of heat to the water. Because of this you often see smoke pouring out of a wood boiler. This is because of the incomplete combustion that takes place because of the cool fire. The smoke that comes as a product of outdoor boilers is making them more difficult to purchase, install or operate in many areas. In fact, there gas heaters are many regulations that are being developed at the local and municipal level to strongly regulate most outdoor wood heaters. States that regulate wood boilers include Vermont and New York, making it more difficult to purchase or operate a outdoor boiler, unless the owner is miles from a neighbor.

Another drawback to an outdoor furnace is that most designs are very inefficient. Some reports show that many outdoor furnaces have efficiencies that range from 28 to 55 percent. A number of better outdoor wood furnace manufacturers are beginning to invest in cleaner technologies; however the availability of these improvements may come long after outdoor units become regulated.

If you are looking to install an outdoor wood boiler then it would be a good thing to do some research before you buy something that turns out to be regulated in your area. Also you may be able to find one of the more advance models that burn at hotter temperatures to alleviate the smoke problem. The higher efficiency wood furnace will not only make your neighbors happy but will also save you a lot of time and energy supplying fuel and feeding the monster.