All the houses and the main building are now equipped with energy efficient wood fireplaces
We hope that you enjoy this winter with less restrictions!
We have some cool news at eumelia…
Do you want to learn how is our winter so far?
After two years of lockdowns and travel restrictions, this winter we will finally remain open for winter travelers! The flame of sustainability is always burning at eumelia and that’s what will keep us warm this winter.
Recently, we took another step towards self-sufficiency and energy efficiency. All the houses and the main building are now equipped with energy efficient wood fireplaces that guarantee autonomous heating for each house separately and less fuel, in our case firewood.
What is an energy efficient wood fireplace?
The energy efficient wood fireplace is a modern closed-type fireplace, which has high combustion efficiency and therefore low fuel consumption (firewood).
In standard open fireplaces, wood burning is incomplete, with a yield rate typically approaching 10%. As a result, much of the heat that our fuel could produce is lost. On the contrary, in an energy efficient fireplace, the efficiency of combustion exceeds 75%, which means that we receive a large part of the energy it can yield as heat in our houses and a much smaller percentage is left unused compared to an old-style fireplace.
This means that the energy efficient wood fireplace can warm up eumelia’s houses much more efficiently, with significant less firewood that our farm provides.
Why is it the ideal solution for eumelia’s farm stays?
It’s nice, cozy and SAFE!
Undoubtedly, the feeling a fireplace gives in a winter farm house is beyond comparison! Imagine your ideal family vacation: enjoying a cup of mountain tea while reading your favorite book by the fireplace and your kids playing around with some of eumelia’s eco-toys… What more could one ask for? Well, safety! The closed-type fireplace is 100% safe from fire hazards: smoke, sparks, your kids experimenting with throwing things in the fire or your pets that might approach more than they should! It is also safe to leave the fire on while you fall asleep or in case you want to take long walk outdoors
It contributes to “circular farming” while providing energy self-sufficiency!
Our regenerative farm provides us with wood every year. We give our olive trees a light pruning, necessary for air circulation and optimum sunlight of the new olives. Of course, regenerative farming means giving back to the soil and that’s what we do! Smaller branches are cut off, chopped and incorporated into the soil. Thicker wood is used as firewood which provides heat in the winter months. Wood ash from the fireplace is then added to the vegetable garden raised beds. It contains potassium which is a vital nutrient for crops. As already mentioned, in an energy efficient fireplace, the efficiency of combustion exceeds 75% which guarantees the lowest possible amount of woods for maximum heat. Therefore, our farm not only feeds us, but also keeps us warm and we then give back to the soil!
It’s one more step in our sustainability path!
Our 20 year-old experience with sustainability IN PRACTICE, has proven loud and clear that a combination of different environmental technologies is the key to ultimate sustainable living. What does this practically mean? The geothermal heating system implemented in the construction phase of eumelia is energy efficient but not adequate by itself. It reduces the need of energy up to 70%, but still needs 30% of electric power that, until now, we cannot produce ourselves and renewably. Geothermal heating is great to heat up all the premises at the same time but energy-intensive if we wish to heat up only one or some of the houses! To sum up, we need extra flexibility and ways to use all the sources provided by nature!
Special thanks to…
Nontas Houndalas:
He is a real fireplace professional! A “mastoras” as we say in Greece (craftsman with great skills). He is the person who finds solutions instead of difficulties, since he had to adopt the new energy efficient fireplaces to the existing ones. “We drink water to his name” (another Greek saying that we use to say that we are thankful to someone)… or maybe hot chocolate!
Thermozel:
Greek enginuity, high aesthetics, entrepreneurial spirit and environmental values are met in this family business established and run by three brothers in rural Greece. Professionals and dedicated to the core, always caring and giving solutions from the biggest to smallest Greek business like eumelia. Let’s drink another hot chocolate to the name of the Zelios Bros!
© Charlott Tornow:
For the amazing photos and the article she wrote about her holistic experience at the farm. Actually, she was one of the first guests to “test-drive” the coziness of the fireplaces. Needless to say…they passed the test!
