System design for off-grid super-insulated home

[SpaceBus]

The vast majority of Americans/Canadians do not burn wood, the vast majority of wood burners use a regular gas/electric oven to cook food. I’m sure a wood cook stove is charming, I’ve used one, but are they ever actually the best solution?

The OP has propane. A pretty great cooking fuel.

I have an electric range oven as well as several other electric cooking appliances. Whenever possible I use the wood cooker because I hate the GE glass top range oven. It also preheats my domestic hot water, but I don't have to use it. At some point we hope to move the GE into a shed and putting an induction cook top in an island since we have an electric counter top convection oven that works better than most ovens I've tried, except for the wood oven. You are right, it is charming, and a joy to use. It's too wet out to have windows open, so I've been using the electric stuff. Otherwise it would make the house a sauna, so I do understand the limitations.

With the excellent insulation and energy efficiency of the OP's house a wood cook stove would be a great asset and easily able to put 14kbtu/hr into the house. Some cookstoves can do 100% of the domestic hot water heating when in use, but the water coil on my stove is not that efficient. It does however have a very responsive air control system and is very good at not overheating the house. That'ts not to say it couldn't, but the control-ability is amazing for a non-cat.

 

[begreen]

I loved the wood cookstove when I had one, but I think it would put out too much heat in this house during the time it took to get it up to temp bake something. A super-insulated house can heat itself during shoulder season weather just from the appliances, lighting and body heat. And that is before solar gain is factored in.

 

[SpaceBus]

I loved the wood cookstove when I had one, but I think it would put out too much heat in this house during the time it took to get it up to temp bake something. A super-insulated house can heat itself during shoulder season weather just from the appliances, lighting and body heat. And that is before solar gain is factored in.

Perhaps, but just open a window if that is the case and I'm also not suggesting to only use the wood cookstove for everything. After owning a modern cookstove I see why there are so many steel alloys used rather than cast iron now. My cookstove isn't quite as fast as the electric range oven, but it is pretty fast, maybe an hour to get it up to 450 df. I also know from experience and an oven thermo that the electric oven lies about when it is pre-heated.

 

[begreen]

Yes, a cast iron wood stove takes hours to cool down, once up to baking temp. Note that most electric ovens have a method of calibrating the oven control. It's not untypical for them to be off a bit.