The other thing I have always admired it the Russian stove. A fireplace of substantial thermal mass with a long weaving flue to impart it's heat into the masonry. Minimal firing needed as the structure holds the heat generated and releases it into the home over an extended time.
Getting our masonry heater permitted via the local Air Quality Board, added a year to our house plans. It took that long to explain and prove to them, that masonry heater, is cleaner than catalytic stoves or pellet stoves, and used less fuel. We burn 2, 5 gallon buckets of wood on an average winter day, for a 2 story 2300sf house. If it drops below freezing in daytime, 3 or 4 buckets (1 or 2 daily firings at full air flow for 1 hour, about 40 lbs of wood per burn. A 5 gal bucket is the right size, and a clean way to carry 20lbs of wood at a time) Takes 4 days to warm the heater up fully, and in the summer, it's thermal mass acts like a chiller to keep the ground floor cool.
