November 18 2010

Greenbuild - Tulikivi Masonry Heater

Tulikivi is a Finnish manufacturer of Masonry Heaters which combine a wood/pellet burning fireplace with a soapstone surround to create a unit that can heat a home for 24 hours on a two hour burn. The extremely long thermal mass / lag is achieved by using a Swedish designed Whirlbox configuration where the hot gasses are passed through an air cavity / chamber in the thick soapstone surround. Soapstone, a dense, heat resistant slightly blue gray stone, apparently has better heat retaining and thermal capacities than other stone and is ideally suited for radiant home heating.

The soapstone surround can be clad in a variety of masonry materials but that is an additional cost. The unit pictured costs around $13,000 and needs a pretty solid foundation to support it's 3,500 lbs. The units can be placed on wood floors in combination with an insulated Glasbloc base. A traditional chimney is also required.

This units is beautiful and extremely well built. For more information visit www.Tulikivi.com.