To be surprised people think wood burning stoves are environmentally friendly?

[Olympiathequeen]

I’ve been scratching my head for years as these stoves increased in popularity and belch out woodsmoke.

The folksy, homely image of these stoves has been pushed despite the fact they are clearly burning a polluting substance.

Hollow laugh as London is now talking about the polluting effect of the burned particulates.

What did they think a wood burning stove produced? Fairy dust?

I was about to reply but Whiskyowl is absolutely spot on. I have nothing more to add.

*I think your post is confusing two things - environmental sustainability and health impacts.

Wood is a sustainable resource, and burning sustainably harvested timber is more carbon neutral than burning fossil fuels.

However, there is this problem with particulate matter. It can be ameliorated to a decent extent by using clean-burning stoves and properly seasoned wood so that combustion is really complete.*

<a class="break-all" href="http://go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120116095814.htm" target="_blank">https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120116095814.htm

Confused. Someone let me know when it’s decided if it’s better than turning on the heating (which may not catch in your children’s throats OP but burns more fuel somewhere else in the country surely?

We bought a diesel car 9 years ago as we were promised it was better for the environment. Turns out that was a mistake....

I think what OP is trying to say is that wood burning stoves are not OK because the pollution from them is being emitted on her street. Whereas the pollution from power plants, heavy industry, shipping and trains is OK because it's not emitted near her street.

Yep, environmental nimbyism.

The efficency and capture capabilities of a power station are much better than any home stove. Burning at home releases compounds including carcinogens at average chimney height. These create pea soups around people's homes. At least the final.output from a power station when released is released at a height sufficient to ensure dilution of local effects. Let's face it wood burners are trendy not eco!

I have a Defra approved stove which is specially designed to reduce emissions and is approved for use in Clean Air zones. I burn seasoned wood from the trees in my garden (they need regular pollarding/pruning anyway). Interested if OP could link to studies demonstrating any pollution caused by stoves like mine.

I burn wood from the trees we chop down in our yard, and we season them for a year in our lean to.

I have a Defra-approved Morso stove.

I live in an area where everyone burns wood and haven't had any problems with woodsmoke.

When we lose power in snow storms (which happens several times a year) my wood stove is the only thing stopping my house from completely freezing.

I looked into solar panels but we are surrounded by trees and I'd have to chop a lot of them down to make the panels work.

We have a very well insulated house. You have to where I live (northern New England).

Although 'off topic' a properly maintained Diesel car can be 'better' than a poorly maintained Petrol car. (BBC website has an interesting 'report' on this which is interesting but not surprising). Lobbyists and 'government' pull all manner of stunts to make it appear they are doing something. There is also the matter of global influence. Even if everyone in Britain stayed in bed tomorrow with no central heating, cars, lorries, trains, factories even, the difference it would make to the world's pollution level would be minimal. Not suggesting 'we' shouldn't do our bit but you need to get a grip on scale. Those who live in California (too hot, needs aircon) or Northern Canada / Russia (too cold needs permanent heating) should move to a more 'temperate' area.
While 'demonising' Diesel you should consider how you are going to receive all the goods in your shops if you stop the convoys of trucks hurtling up and down the motorways.

Not a personal attack on BeALert, but an observation that to live in a well insulated house would typically requite insulation made of polystyrene (oil product) or glass wool, huge environmental impact.
As I said previously not necessarily 'bad' as long as the design of the house and insulation will last many years.

The way wind is blowing today, no chance of the particulate matter sticking around to condense or annoy.

Must fire up the woodburner this evening. I'm not sure that sending our pizza boxes to landfill to turn into methane would really be better for environment.

Good quality modern wood burning stoves are nothing like an open fire or old stove for emissions.

Surely London is a smokeless fuel area? My city certainly is and while people do flout this in general people burn either “smokeless” coal (which is pretty rubbish actually) or in very very efficient wood burners.

Unfortunately not everyone is as consciencious as some people. Our neighbour actually threw plastic in her stove and the smell was horrendous.

We live in a rural area and people just go into woods and collect chunks of wood, or buy it from a man who cuts down surplus trees and sells them when they are dry. He doesn’t treat them in any other way.

My mother visited last winter and said it all reminded her of her London childhood with smoke pouring from chimneys.

I drive a tiny petrol car and have solar panels so I’m doing my bit for the environment. Our gas and electric are below comparable houses according to our Nest survey.

The post is about my surprise that people really couldn’t see burning anything is bound to be damaging when all these WBSs became fashionable.

Maybe we should ban 'bonfire night' in England?

Your gas and electric consumption would be even lower if you had a wood burning stove. Plus when the power crisis hits and we have winter blackouts you'd be able to keep warm if you had a stove.

I'm chuckling at the idea that woodburning stoves are suddenly fashionable - where I live everyone's had them forever. They're just very practical here.

The older ones certainly are environmentally damaging, and my state is focusing on getting people to replace them with new efficient stoves. Mine was partly paid for by a state agency that focuses on converting people over to renewable energy.

buy it from a man who cuts down surplus trees and sells them when they are dry. He doesn’t treat them in any other way.

How should he be treating them?!

Not a personal attack on BeALert, but an observation that to live in a well insulated house would typically requite insulation made of polystyrene (oil product) or glass wool, huge environmental impact. As I said previously not necessarily 'bad' as long as the design of the house and insulation will last many years.

Yes - I'm always surprised on these threads about the environmental damage where people focus on just a few things without thinking about the much larger effects we have that we don't think about.

How should he be treating them?!

I also wondered this. We stack ours for a year - that's it.

oh yeah.. I was in rural Ireland & everything went into the stove, including any plastic. I was horrified. They had to pay to dispose of each bag of rubbish & made a big fuss about avoiding that. They didn't seem that poor but I didn't want to cause an argument.

How should he be treating them?!

You can kiln dry logs to expedite the drying process, which obviously isn't as environmentally friendly as stacking them for a year because of the energy inputs required.

I've got a fracking site practiacally in my back garden
I think I'll keep my wood burner thanks

We don't have a single bit of central heating, so the wood burner is the only thing which heats our home. And our wood is free as DH is a manager of a timber merchant.

Think we'll keep outnwood burner, thanks!

*our

I didn’t say they were suddenly fashionable. They’ve been growing in popularity for many years and that’s the problem. They produce smoke and particulates which are damaging. If we all had them then the pollution from power stations would reduce and the pollution would be hovering over us all.

I suppose it’s ironic that the majority are in the south east but most of the power stations are in the north, so it’s fair that WBS owners are redistributing the pollution more fairly. [grin)

Dh says most of the coal burned in uk power stations comes from abroad. Shipped from the other side of the world by ships burning fossil fuels to power the ships.