HIGHLIGHTING DANGER OF WOODBURNERS

[GlassHouseBlue]

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) -
essentially tiny particles of soot - is one
of the most dangerous air pollutants.
Breathing it in is linked to lung cancer,
heart damage, strokes, impaired cognition
and mental health problems, and can
exacerbate conditions such as asthma,
COPD and pulmonary fibrosis. Children
and elderly people are most vulnerable

Exactamundo.
Don't ever make yourself dependent on a traitor government that is destroying your nations ability to feed, clothe and look after itself.

How on earth did humanity make it this far...

Wood burning is as old as time.

You’re right—wood burning is as old as time. But so are a lot of things humanity has moved on from, like open sewers and leaded paint. Progress happens when we learn and adapt.

Moving on from being able to keep ones family warm isn't something I'm prepared to get on board with. Neither is taking out a 30 grand finance deal for an electric car (while my old diesel engine gets exported to Africa).

I will never trust the government enough to give up my ability to keep my family warm and fed.
If you are, more fool you

@Warmhome1 we're unlikely to find a common ground. We're both doing what we believe is best for our families. The community matters too though

I haven't read the thread, but have air quality meters come up at all?

@Annabella92 yes a PP has touched on buying one and realising how bad the air was from their wood burner usage, they then stopped their wood burner usage.

No one has spoken about air purifiers. I'd be interested to learn about those if anyone had any suggestions.

& someone else tried one and found that cooking on their hop produced more particulates.

You ve still not answered my question on why people find the need to have a WB or why you think electricity prices still need to be tied to gas prices?

cooking, can also produce particulates, but the scale and duration of emissions from wood burners tend to have a much larger cumulative impact, especially in urban areas.

As for why some people use wood burners, the thread is full of people justifying their use and what I understand is they can be practical in rural areas or during power cuts. The main concern is their routine use in areas with alternatives that don’t affect local air quality.

Regarding electricity prices being tied to gas, I agree—it’s frustrating and outdated. Shifting to renewable energy and decoupling prices from gas is essential, but that doesn’t negate the need to address other sources of pollution, like wood burners, where we can make immediate improvements. Hope that answers your question this windy Sunday morning!

Yes agree on people should use alternatives, i certainly would but there is none, other than oil or bottled gas, neither of which are cheap or carbon neutral.

I ve the lates design of wood burner, despite using v dry logs, smoke and some smell is always there on still days, not blind to the issues.

You are of course free to campaign on whatever you like but untying electricity to gas prices, if done correctly, would reduce WB use, put far more money in peoples pockets and help decarbonise the economy... this is what really needs to change.

Whether Starmers GB Energy can do this, i m very doubtful but we'll see.

@GlassHouseBlue do you think about the extra emissions your gas usage cases in communities where lots of flights take off to support offshore installations? Are you concerned for the air quality around Sumburgh or Aberdeen.

If I came here and in shouty capital letters suggested everyone should be limited to 90 minutes of gas use each day and that the price should be at least three times the amount it is now to bring it in line with electric heating, would you be surprised if some posters didn't agree this would improve everyone's health?

I might support you if you were a bit more nuanced but all you have taken from this is 'they might be useful in rural areas'. You are welcome to try northern Scotland in winter without one but I'd guarantee you'd be asking about fitting one the next winter.

I do care about air quality. I have solar panels but even with those, it would cripple me to run electric heating as the only heat source.

This morning Octopus had the free electric from 7am to 9am. I whacked on two panel heaters and an oil filled radiator and we all had electric showers. The smart meter is now at £6.

I'll get rid of a wood burner if you are happy to do the same to your gas central heating.

I will do everything, idle my car in a queue, burn wood and coal (gasp) on my woodburner and use gas and electric to cook and heat water. Until the rest of the world catches up..America, China, India, etc, I won’t be made to feel guilty by A The government who can’t recycle properly to save their lives and B By someone on a forum. I could fall done the stairs and die, I could get hit by a car, I could crash my car..but I won’t be made to feel guilty! I do recycle, I do compost. That’s it.

I'm doomed - there are SIX log burners in our house-
lounge, kitchen and 4 bedrooms. Though we never light the bedroom burners -they were installed by the previous owner

My son has an air purifier in his bedroom. It is a Phillips 2000. We got it the winter our neighbours installed their wood burners. His peak flow increased immediately by 10-20.
There is a episode of sliced bread on radio 4 discussing the evidence around them.

The main concern is their routine use in areas with alternatives that don’t affect local air quality.

You can be concerned all you like - but until the alternatives are cheaper, you're not going to get anywhere.

@HowYouSpellingThat10

•	Gas heating emissions differ from wood burners as they don’t release PM2.5 directly into local air, which impacts immediate community health.
•	i take on board what rurally based PPs have said re: wood burners but believe they should be limited in urban/suburban areas with alternatives.
•	Modern gas boilers are highly regulated, while wood burning—even in newer stoves—remains a major source of harmful particulates.
•	Energy affordability is critical, and I fully support decoupling electricity prices from gas and expanding renewable energy options.

• I agree affordability is key, and cheaper, cleaner alternatives need to be made more accessible.
• That said, raising awareness about the local air quality impacts of wood burners can help drive demand for better policies and incentives.
• Small changes, like using wood burners less often where possible, can still make a difference while we push for broader systemic change.

Yes gas emissions differ when you are burning it but do we just ignore what it takes to pump it to your house in the first place?

Certain communities are affected by this.

I do worry for the people reporting smells from their neighbours burners. I can understand if it's a single story extension say and the land behind is on a hill. I do think chimneys should be an appropriate height and topography should be considered.

But if it's coming from a traditional semi set up that would be concerning and I'd be having the chimney checked from my side.

You shouldn't be able to smell a wood burner if seasoned wood is being burned at the correct temperature. The only thing coming out of the chimney should be white smoke. If I stand outside I can't see mine when it's on.

I would guess those of us that use them as our main source of heating are very aware of correct procedures, maintain our stoves and have the chimney swept (because we know we can't afford to be without it). I've never been able to smell my neighbours'.

Those who live in urban areas and put it on for a nice glow occasionally might be less aware of how to do things properly which may exacerbate things in built up places.

I agree that having a car causes so much more pollution as mentioned by pp above. Global industry and wars are huge contributors also.

It's important to remember what is funding Putin's wars (Ukraine, Georgia, Syria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Sudan etc). Oil and gas revenues.

Fossil fuels prop up some of the most odious regimes on the planet. Don't give them your money.

Is it cheaper?

it would cost me somewhere around £3500 to install and fit a wood burner. Not including installing a fireplace etc.

add in the annual maintenance, chimney sweeping, co detectors, plus the cost of firelighters and wood.

i must pay around 500/year for GCH. So it would take 7+ years to break even. And then there’s the consideration that GCH heats the whole house, a wood burner only one room. So presumably I’m paying to heat the rest of the house using electric/gas on top.

then there’s the time spent. I don’t know how different they are to open fires, but I hated having to get up, clean the grate and relay the fire every day. I wouldn’t have time these days. One more thing to do don’t need.

also when we had open fires I got really bad “tinkers tartan” from sitting directly in front of it. I hated that there was a warm spot of about 6ft directly in front of the fire and the rest of the house was freezing. So how efficient are they at heating the house? They may be “cheaper” to run, but can you really heat a home efficiently with one.

for me I’d be better off installing solar panels, it would take about the same amount of time to pay for itself.

Agree, unless, like us, you can get wood for nothing, a WB makes no sense, IF you can get mains gas... they also require an area to store wood and who wants to messing about lighting cleaning fires as you age..

On heating the house, yes they radiate heat so much better than an open fire, where most of the heat goes up the chimney, a modern WB also uses a lot less wood too.

Our plan is to rip the WB out and replace with a bottled gas look a like over the next few years, the liner we fitted is suitable for both and was of high quality.

Thanks
Yes to the chimney being swept.
Not sure about the rope. But I googled it afterwards and read that particles are released every time the door is opened.
It's a shame, because my house has no heating upstairs, and I was hoping the heat from the woodburner would rise!

Now I'm wondering if smokeless coal would be an option, and whether that would pollute the air. Although I live rurally and can smell everyone else's when I go out so probably wouldn't make much difference globally, but might prevent asthma in my own home.

@Whatamitodonow yes, for us it's cheaper. Much cheaper.

The house came with a wood burner and DH does all the cleaning and maintenance himself. We get free wood via his work mostly, but if not it's around £40 a month for a bag. Cleaning is a faff but it doesn't cost us any moneys.

To add, everyone should have a CO detector anyway so that's a normal household cost and fire lighters are a few quid from Tesco - it's hardly bank breaking.

I appreciate if you don't have a wood burner or need to pay for all your wood that's different, but even so, it's nice to have a source of heating that can be used in power cuts or when the gas prices soar through the roof.