Hawken Energy: Outdoor Wood Furnace or Outdoor Wood Boiler?

Does Hawken Energy manufacture an outdoor wood furnace or an outdoor wood boiler? Yes. Currently there are lots of names for our product depending on the local region or manufacturer.

The basics are pretty simple. Hot water is heated by a wood fire. That water is circulated through heat exchangers to keep a home or building comfortable.

Here’s a list of common terms all representing a Hawken Energy.

Outdoor Wood Furnace (OWF) – this is the term we find most popular
Outdoor Wood Boiler (OWB) – this term is probably the most technically correct
Waterstove – not nearly as popular, this term seems to be most popular in Western North America.

Even within these basic names there are lots of variations. For example, either the OWF or the OWB could also be referred to as “outdoor wood-fired boiler” or “outdoor wood-fired furnace” or “wood boiler”.

It’s also common to use the term “stove”. For example, “outdoor wood stove”. Because they are not actually used to cook anything we feel the term is the most incorrect.

The terms “biomass” and “biogenic” heaters have also grown in popularity recently. These words simply refer to the renewable fuels used to create heat, in our case that fuel is wood. Because water is the medium used to carry the heat energy, we use the term hydronics or "hydronic heaters" or even "outdoor wood-fired hydronic heaters" (OWHH).