Keep Your Family Warm and Safe—No Matter What

Not really, and it's worth being upfront about that. With a winter heating season that adds up to roughly 4,195 on the scale used to measure total winter cold, and winter lows averaging in the high 20s, Smyrna's climate is mild compared to true cold-climate markets, and the vast majority of homes here heat with natural gas or electric heat pumps through utilities like Delmarva Power or Delaware Electric Cooperative. Wood stoves show up in a minority of homes—usually older farmhouses, rural properties in unincorporated Kent County, or households that want a non-electric backup heat source. If you're looking for one, expect fewer dealers to specialize in it compared to gas or electric equipment.

Because wood stove installations are uncommon in this part of Delaware, there isn't a well-established local price benchmark the way there is for gas fireplaces here. Nationally, a wood stove installation—including the stove, hearth pad, and Class A chimney venting through an existing wall or roof—typically runs $3,500 to $8,500 depending on whether an existing chimney can be used or new venting has to be built from scratch. Because so few local installers do this work regularly, getting an in-home quote from someone who actually handles wood-burning installs (rather than a general HVAC contractor) matters more here than it would in a wood-heavy market.

Oak, hickory, and maple are the common hardwoods across Kent County's woodlots and farm tree lines, and all three make solid firewood once properly seasoned. Oak and hickory burn dense and long, which is useful if you're running a stove for overnight backup heat during a power outage. Maple burns a bit faster and lights more easily, making it a reasonable choice for shoulder-season fires. Most firewood in this area comes from local tree services and small suppliers rather than dedicated firewood yards, since demand is lower than in colder regions—plan to source and season wood a year ahead if you can.

Yes. New wood-burning appliance installations require a building permit, whether your property falls within Smyrna town limits (Town of Smyrna) or unincorporated Kent County (Kent County Building Department). The stove itself needs to meet current EPA emissions standards, and the chimney and clearances have to meet code. Because wood stove installs are less frequent here than gas or electric work, it's worth confirming your installer has actually pulled wood-stove permits before, not just gas or HVAC permits.

Mostly climate and infrastructure. Smyrna's winters are mild compared to cold-climate markets like Duluth, MN or Burlington, VT, so the cost-benefit case for wood as a primary heat source is weaker—a natural gas furnace or electric heat pump handles the region's winter cold, which adds up to roughly 4,195 on the standard scale, without the labor of cutting, hauling, and stacking wood. Delmarva Power's natural gas service and reliable electric infrastructure through Delaware Electric Cooperative and Delmarva Power also make gas and electric heat the practical default for most new construction and renovations in the area.

It's one of the better reasons to install one here. The Delmarva Peninsula gets its share of ice storms and nor'easters, and both natural gas furnaces and electric heat pumps typically need electricity to run their blowers—meaning your primary heat can go down along with the power. A wood stove keeps working with no electricity at all. For a rural Kent County property, or any home where extended winter outages are a real concern, that independence is often the main driver behind an otherwise uncommon installation.

A freestanding wood stove sits on a hearth pad and can go almost anywhere in a room with the right clearances and new chimney venting—the more common route in Smyrna since fewer homes here have existing masonry fireplaces built for wood. A wood insert fits into an existing masonry fireplace and uses that chimney, which works well if you have an older farmhouse or a home built with a traditional hearth. Given how few local homes have unused masonry fireplaces sitting idle, most wood installations in this area end up being freestanding stoves rather than insert conversions.

For most Smyrna homeowners, gas wins on convenience and infrastructure: natural gas service through Delmarva Power is well established locally, installation is straightforward, and there's no wood to source, season, or store. Wood makes sense in narrower situations—a rural property without gas service, a household that wants heat that works without electricity during outages, or an older home where a wood stove fits the character of the space. If your main goal is efficient daily heat, gas is the more practical fit here. If your goal is storm-proof backup heat or ambiance, wood is worth a real look.

This is the part where local knowledge actually matters. Because wood-burning equipment is a smaller share of the market here compared to gas and electric, not every hearth or HVAC company in the Smyrna and Kent County area handles wood stove sales and installation regularly. We match homeowners with a trusted local dealer who genuinely installs wood-burning equipment—someone who can size the unit correctly, run proper Class A venting, and pull the right permits—rather than pointing you toward a big-box option or a contractor who rarely does this specific work.

New wood stoves are 70%+ efficient, so far less heat goes up the flue—which also means less draft to get a fire established. The rule: build a genuinely hot fire for about 45 minutes before you choke it down. Skip that and you get smoke in the room, creosote in the chimney, and a fire that never takes off. Most performance complaints trace straight back to this.

An insert is a fireplace that slides into a pre-existing wood-burning fireplace—if you don't have one, there's nothing to insert it into. A zero-clearance fireplace is built into a framed wall, which makes it the answer for remodels and new construction. Simple test: existing masonry fireplace means insert; blank or framed wall means zero-clearance.

If you're putting a fire in your house on purpose, it's best to work with an expert. Unless you're genuinely experienced in framing, gas line, vent pipe, and the national code on clearances to combustibles, have a professional do it—and ideally the same company that sells you the fireplace, so warranty, service, and liability all live under one roof.

It's a visit where a hearth professional measures your space, confirms the model you picked actually works in your home, and walks the specs—framing, gas line, venting, finish work—before anything is ordered. Some details you just can't know until you see the house. Never make a down payment without one; it's the single most-skipped step that burns buyers.