Is burning wood at home good or bad?
Posted by DavidM in Pollution | 27 February 2007
A neighbour of mine recently said he was going to start burning wood logs in his fireplace instead of using the central heating in order to be more environmentally friendly.
I wasn't sure whether he was right. On the one hand, if you have a supply of wood locally and replace what is used, surely that's sustainable and is (almost) carbon neutral?
However, if we all did it, would the increase in the forestry industry be damaging to the environment and would it become inefficient compared to central electricity generation?
Plus there's the issue of localised pollution, that if everyone in densely populated areas burned wood the smoke would be damaging to health.
So, I did a quick Google search and found some answers.
Woodheat is a non-profit organisation in favour of heating homes with wood responsibly. As they say, like so many other things you can have good wood burning and bad wood burning. They list the environment as the first two reasons to burn wood to heat your home.
The Tree.org has similar advice, though makes one point very clear - "wood is only an environment-friendly fuel if it comes from well-managed woodlands and forests, where more trees are grown each year than are harvested". In addition I think you need to consider the transportation aspects of the wood - local is better.
I also found this guide to the best wood to burn from a heat efficiency and cresote perspective.
So, if you can get a good supply of well-managed wood locally, wood-burning to heat your home is a good idea.
Time for me to get that chimney swept, move the flower vases out of the grate and get some wood in then.
TrackBack
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Is burning wood at home good or bad?:
» Is burning wood at home good or bad? from
Wood has a reputation as a 'dirty' fuel as it produces smoke, but in the broader environmental context, is it the best home-heating fuel? [Read More]
Tracked on February 28, 2007 10:12 PM
