360 A Healthy Home
How a good stove works
Here are simple ways to improve stoves so they will burn less
fuel, produce less smoke, and cook foods more quickly.
A hot fire burns fuel completely.
A fire smokes when fuels do not
burn completely. To make the
fire hot, use small, dry pieces
of fuel.
A grate under fuel for the fire
creates a draft (moving air),
helping the fire burn hotter.
Heat from the fire
touches the pot.
When more of the
pot bottom touches
the fire, heat goes
into the pot and
cooks food faster.
No heat is
lost to the air
because the
pot sits right
on the fire.
A chimney, hood, or vent to
carry away smoke. This also
moves air inside the stove,
making the fire hotter and
cooking food faster.
The stove is made with material that keeps
heat inside the stove (insulation), so foods
cook faster using less fuel.
Vent cooking and heating stoves
Good: Place the stove
near a window. Having 2
openings helps air move
through the room.
Better: A hood with a chimney
above the stove carries most of the
smoke outside. A hole in the roof or
a space between the wall and the
eaves will also help remove smoke.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012
Best: A stove with a chimney
attached carries most smoke
out of the house.