Why does everyone install wood burners knowing how terrible they are for the environment?

[Don'tcallthepolice]

Just this

In what way are wood burners bad for the environment?

SO much better than central heating

Another article that explains why they are so awful
amp.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/15/wood-burners-emit-more-particle-pollution-than-traffic-uk-data-shows

i had one installed when I was none the wiser, it made me feel ill (yes it was certified as eco-friendly at the time) and it was at that point i started to research them more

however OP I think you’re a bit naive. People drive cars, fly on holiday, use gas, eat meat without really giving it a second thought. Well an awful lot do.

The problem is people are not using seasoned wood. I know a friend who has just boosted about using wood collected from the garden. But they should have done it last year and let it dry. Same with my neighbour who knows he is doing it wrong. But the other two neighbours are burning anything they can including painted wood and chipboard. To be honest running a fire is only cheaper in the freezing temps or if you burn anything you can get your hands on.

Reasons given by others.

OP, if you use a car you are indirectly helping or have helped Putin and his evil deeds. If you burn wood you have not.

I love mine. I also use wipes and travel by plane twice a year.. I'm evil!!! 😂😂😂

I have a gas boiler and central heating. This is not good for the environment either.
How do you heat your home OP?

In my neck of the woods they are hygge twats.

Cost of heating your home . Most people want to satisfy an immediate need ie to keep warm . Climate / environmental factors won't impact large swathes of the population because we'll be dead before any major impact .
And besides war will probably get us and the human population will kill itself off before the planet dies .
Personally I don't think it a bad thing if humans die off . We are very selfish .

I don't have one but I genuinely didn't know about it being a problem until its come out in the news in recent times.

Once they are installed obviously people want to use them but it is very worrying about the lung damage aspect.

People who would not let their children be near cigarette smoke use wood burning stoves.

I guess it's easy to ignore The health implications.

It's like bacon and alcohol. They've been clear on the cancer risk for years but now I'm in my 40s I've cut down. I can't cut out nitrates entirely but I do try and limit. Same with booze.

If they keep warning us it's going to sink in for some people but a lot of people are going to remain oblivious.

There's no way I'd fit a wood burner now.

We installed one in September, to replace an open fireplace that was used by previous owners, but not by us. It is a multi-fuel stove so we can burn wood, heat logs or smokeless brickettes. It meets the latest regulations, so is a lot less polluting than an open fire, enhances our home and gives us an alternative source of heat in our living room. We don't use it every day, just for cosy evenings around the tv. It's lovely, so no regrets here!

It's like smoking, they don't care about others' lung health basically.

George monbiots recent article in the guardian was very interesting- and very worrying.
In years to come people who have them will be suffering from serious lung disease.

You put wood in them and burn it, this produces particles that lodge in lungs. The pollution is worst inside the home but is also bad outside the home and a leading cause of air pollution generally.

Because when the electricity goes off - 4 days was the longest in November 2021 - then it's the only way to survive.
Not everyone lives in an urban area with underground cables. Power cuts are a way of life for people in rural areas. Solid fuel heating is a life saver.

See this thread has reinforced my feeling 'the environment' is vague as people think carbon and know their gas is carbon.

It should be 'for health'.

It's not just lungs. There are links to cognitive decline, like dementia.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29897947/

Maintain your wood burner and chimney. Keep the doors closed, only burn seasoned wood. Don't have it in the city.

Problem solved.

HTH

I work with thoracic surgeons. This is the reason we didn't get one.

For power cuts (of which we get a lot - rural) as I'm disabled and I can't get cold.

Because oil is really expensive (see above - rural) and you have to pay a huge whack at one time and I can't always do that.

Don'tcallthepolice

i wouldn’t have a log burner due to the health effects for those sat in the same room

when lung cancer become more prevalent in those with log burners, then people will start to realise the risks.

its like smoking cigarettes in the 1970s, people didn’t want to believe that this habit caused cancer

Because the research is flawed. They aren’t bad for health compared with smoking, vaping, drugs, inhaling car fumes, incinerator

I used to live in the countryside with a log burner. Every day I could smell ‘weed’ not from neighbours but from British sugar - etc

I’m much more likely to die from waiting for an ambulance or lack of treatment for something minor which gets infected and a lack of appointment from a GP than my log burner. My gas and electricity bill would be £500 or more without it

Because my Jacobean house would be fucking freezing without one.

We live in a village with no gas.

Our stove is Defra approved.

We only burn wood seasoned for 2 years.

Once it’s lit, we barely open the doors. Maybe once in an evening.

And we love it.

The government need to ban the sale of them.

I didn't realise how bad they were in cities. I'm near a motorway and airport so I'm already aware Air quality must be rubbish around here.

I do think that awareness is not good. This thread is showing loads of people are defensive about it.

We have one, in an old house and we use seasoned wood only. We also have oil. Not sure which is worse for the environment really. If we light the fire we use less oil. We are in a rural area and nearly all of us have oil and fires.

My brother has a wood burner, a free wood supply at the end of his garden, and space to dry the wood properly. The burner is a modern one that is very efficient and minimises pollution. He would have to be mad not to use it.