Wood burning stoves can help to create a focal point for a room along with being able to provide heat.
Adding a TV to go alongside a stove can further help to create a warm and cozy atmosphere for you to enjoy.
Wood burning stoves can still produce great amounts of heat however, and so it may not be suitable in some situations to put expensive electronic devices such as TVs near a stove.
So can you put a TV above a wood burning stove?
Installing a TV directly above a wood stove isn’t typically recommended, but if a TV will be sufficiently protected from the heat of a wood stove it may be suitable. TVs should be placed outside of clearance distances to combustibles, and a mantel can help protect a TV from the heat.
We have stoves that we installed in our existing open fireplaces and have since debated whether to put TVs on the chimney breast above them.
We’ve explained in more detail below why it may be possible in some cases to install a TV above a wood stove, but also explained the reasons why we haven’t placed TVs over our own particular stoves.
Can You Put A TV Over A Wood Burning Stove?
Wood burning stoves are appliances that help to generate as much heat as possible for your home through burning firewood.
While traditional fireplaces can be very inefficient (where much of the heat is lost up the chimney), modern wood stoves use an array of design features to help burn wood as efficiently as possible to generate the most amount of heat.
We’ve explained in more detail here exactly how a wood stove works, but in summary more heat is extracted from firewood by slowing down the rate at which the waste gases leave the stove, and by using a metal body to absorb the heat and transfer that heat out into the room.
This all means that a wood stove gets very hot and can produce a lot of heat for a room.
Wood stoves are commonly installed within existing open fireplaces, but can also be placed in any other location in a home that’s suitable.
For safety reasons, wood burning stoves need to be located a certain distance away from combustible materials (more about that here).
When it comes to designing a room around a wood stove it’s often that TVs become involved in the layout process because there’s nothing quite like watching TV while enjoying the heat and ambience of a real fire in your home.
As a wood stove can create a focal point for a room, the location of a TV can help further enhance the room by placing it near to a stove.
One popular place to put a TV is above a wood burning stove.
However, there are both reasons for and against installing a TV above a stove, both of which need to be assessed and weighed up against each other before making a decision.
Reasons for putting a TV above your wood burning stove can include:
- Helping to create a focal point for a room with both the TV and the stove at the center.
- Helping to reduce floor space taken up by a TV stand.
On the other hand, reasons why it may not be a good idea to place a TV above your stove includes:
- Heat rises, and therefore there is the risk that the heat may damage the electrical components within the TV.
- Sufficient clearance distances are required to combustible objects.
- As a result of both heat damage and clearance distances, you may have to put the TV quite high up the wall.
Why Put a TV Over A Wood Stove
As discussed above, the main reasons to install a TV over your wood stove include being able to create more of a focal point for a room with both the TV and stove in the same place, as well as also helping to remove the need for a TV stand and help keep floor space.
One of the stoves in our family was installed within an open fireplace, with existing mantel and surround.
It can be a very popular option to put a TV over a combined stove and fireplace, and in our case we very nearly did exactly that.
However in our particular situation we felt that a mirror would be more suited above the stove in fireplace, and we had the floor space to put a TV else where in the room.
Why Not To Put A TV Over A Wood Stove
Reasons why it may not be a good idea to have a TV over a stove are that it may lead to damage of the TV, and sufficient clearance distances are required around wood stoves for safety purposes.
When a wood burning stove is installed in an existing open fireplace, the base of the chimney is capped off to ensure that all airflow up the chimney is through the stove and flue.
This register plate (more about register plates here) can prevent much of the heat from leaving up the chimney, and will instead make its way up the wall above the fireplace.
If a TV is located on this wall above a stove then this concentrated heat from a stove may lead to premature damage of the TV.
Wood stoves also need sufficient clearance distances to combustible objects. The actual distances will need to be in line with your local and/or national building regulations.
In this case, a TV may have to be placed much higher up a wall than desired in order to meet these distances.
If you (like us) don’t want to be looking up at your TV then putting a TV above your stove may not be suitable.
For another one of our stoves, we didn’t want to be looking up at the TV and would rather have it at floor level. In our case, we opted for a picture frame to help make the stove and fireplace more for a decorative feature.
Again, we have a TV on a TV stand elsewhere in the room.
When it comes to deciding whether to install a TV above your stove, you should always assess the risks of putting a TV above your particular wood stove and come to a sensible conclusion as to whether it would be safe in your individual situation.
How Far Away Should A TV Be From A Wood Stove?
There is no specific answer as to how far a TV should be placed from a wood burning stove, but the further away the better.
The location of both your TV and stove in your home will play a big role in clearance distances.
For situations where your stove is completely open to the room, it may be required to place a TV much higher up a wall.
Where a stove is installed in an existing open fireplace, the firebox and the chimney breast may provide adequate protection for standoff distances to be less.
Seek professional advice to confirm how far a TV should be located from a stove in your particular situation.
How To Protect A TV From The Heat Of A Wood Stove
Installing a wood stove in a traditional open fireplace can help provide better protection for nearby electronics such as TVs compared to stoves that are completely open to the room.
Floating mantels can also be used to help provide a barrier between a stove and a TV above.
A mantel can help to direct the hot air around the TV so that it isn’t taking the full brunt of the heat.
You can find a range of floating mantels available to inspire you here.
Conclusion
Whether or not a TV can be put above a wood burning stove will be different for every situation.
Modern wood stoves generate a lot of heat, and there is a risk that the heat from a stove may damage a TV if located too close.
A TV might be more protected if placed above a wood stove when a wood stove is installed within an existing open fireplace, compared to if a TV was located above a stove in an open environment.
The risks of installing a TV above a stove will need to be weighed up against the benefits. In our particular situations we decided against putting our TVs above our wood burning stoves for both safety and decorative purposes.
Standalone mantels can be used to help protect a TV above a stove by blocking and diverting some of the heat as it rises.
Further Reading
What To Put Behind A Wood Burning Stove
Can A Wood Stove Heat A Whole House?