View Full Version : Wood stoves: Yea or nay?
nickycat
11-13-14, 12:02pm
We live in a northern climate and have access to all the firewood we can use. We have two efficient wood stoves and a fireplace. I'm curious to know how people view wood heat these days from an environmental standpoint. We had an estimate last year to install a heat pump and it far exceeded our financial means. We love wood heat; on a recent trip to Vermont, we noticed that firewood gathering was a celebrated part of autumn in small towns and communities. We find all the parts of heating with wood to be heart-and-body warming -- the gathering, cutting, storing etc. We use only "waste" blow-down and culling of non-viable trees on our property. It seems simple and efficient, but...smoke does come out the chimney. Thoughts?
I think if you take everything into account that goes into procuring and distributing petroleum fuels or the current ways of commercially producing electricity, wood and even pellet stoves are a comparatively green heating alternative provided you live in a place with plenty of wood available. Passive solar heating is the least impactive way to heat, but the amount of stuff needed to retrofit a house can be a real environmental headache and in a really cold climate, it may be impossible to provide adequate heat that way no matter how much you spend. Fireplaces are notorious heat suckers, but woodstoves can be very cozy and efficient. My MIL in northern Indiana has a woodstove with some sort of ? rebreather gadget on it to get as much heat as possible per burn, which seems like a good way to minimize enviro impact.
nickycat
11-13-14, 12:50pm
thank you, Kib, your comments are helpful. We're fortunate to have wonderful southern exposure and do make use of passive solar; even today, when it starts out in the mid-20's, we will be warm from sunshine by afternoon. In the meantime, we keep the electricity off in favor of sweaters and wood stoves. I appreciate your thoughts, it's good to remember all the many pieces of how fuels are procured!
I heat with wood, here in the Pacific NW.
I have a nearly-infinite supply of firewood growing here on my house's lot, and I have to harvest more than I can use every year just to keep trees from getting too close and endangering the house.
Trees grow like weeds here, the soil is very thin over rock, and we experience very high winds, so many trees will fall over on their own.
They grow to size suitable for harvesting for timber here in ~50 years, though you usually have to plan on pushing that out as much as a decade or so to allow for market timing considerations.
If they fall over, they will decay and release their carbon through decay, a process that doesn't take long here.
If I burn them, it is during winter time, on a 56 square mile island that is in the Pacific Ocean 20 miles offshore the mainland, with a population of ~3500 people scattered about.
So I don't worry about it when I have to burn some to keep warm. If I lived in downtown Seattle, I might consider a different approach.
We also live on an island in the PNW, bae. Not as far from Seattle as you, it sounds, but perhaps far enough to be relevant to our wood stove emissions. I have thought about just what you mentioned -- that the decay from blow down and tree waste emits carbon as well. Perhaps another mitigating factor in wood stove use in places like the PNW, where evergreen trees are constantly reestablishing themselves.
My extremely basic understanding is that modern efficient wood stoves meet EPA guidelines for emissions, although that leaves plenty of room for speculation. I think much of that depends on operating the stove correctly to keep a fairly smokeless burn. Here in the city I have to buy firewood, but my source sells wood from trees that have been trimmed or removed during the summer, so is a good use for a product that would otherwise end up in some sort of waste stream. An I can usually scrounge some wood from neighbors and friend who are doing tree work. As close as I've been able to figure from my utility bills, it's about a wash comparing the cost of wood to the utility savings. I suppose at the least it avoids using fossil fuels from environmentally borderline extraction methods, but I don't see a certain advantage environmentally when all is considered.
As far as comfort goes, it's hard to top the penetrating warmth the stove puts off. I mostly only use my stove in the mornings to warm the house after a cold night.
I live in a suburb of Seattle. Many people around here burn wood in the winter (or, apparently when the temperature drops below 65). Personally, I think it's probably OK if you live on acreage or otherwise far from neighbors, because certified or not, woodstoves throw off plenty of noxious smoke (which must be hell for people with allergies or COPD).
rodeosweetheart
11-13-14, 1:42pm
I live in a suburb of Seattle. Many people around here burn wood in the winter (or, apparently when the temperature drops below 65). Personally, I think it's probably OK if you live on acreage or otherwise far from neighbors, because certified or not, woodstoves throw off plenty of noxious smoke (which must be hell for people with allergies or COPD).
You would think so, Jane, but it is not necessarily true. I have both and can deal fine with wood heat (so long as smoke not blowing back in house) but have problems with natural gas. So I think it depends on the person.
You would think so, Jane, but it is not necessarily true. I have both and can deal fine with wood heat (so long as smoke not blowing back in house) but have problems with natural gas. So I think it depends on the person.
I was thinking more of neighbors or passers-by than people using the stoves--but that's an interesting point. I don't like natural gas for a variety of reasons; I'm fine with electricity.
I've had asthma for 30 years. My lungs don't work well when I'm in a home with wood burning. Something to consider if anyone in your home has similar problems.
Wood is good, but under certain conditions. It is definitely not for everyone. A readily-available source of good wood---reasonably priced or free for the taking, is needed. I burn fairly small stuff, mainly oak scraps from a hardwood flooring factory, mixed with less-desirable stuff from tree work. It really is a job, keeping the stove fed and cleaned. It's pretty essential to live in a suburban or rural 'hood where it is acceptable, because it is hard to conceal that you're burning wood. I see that some people buy it at the grocery store in tiny $5 bundles just for occasional uses in fireplaces! Not very economical, though. I use it in concert with electric heat, which kicks on when the temp drops from the fire needing more wood. But, it is a good way to heat if you live in a well-insulated small house, without little kids around. The cats like to lie near the stove; last year one of them singed her fur, so she was a brown and white cat for awhile. Another thing is your homeowners' policy. As you know, insurance companies don't want to take any risks, and they have fussy-wussy underwriters that drive around, looking for reasons to cancel you or raise your rates, and wood stoves can be one of them. So, be aware of that.
I have had wood, propane, natural gas, oil, electric and corn, all in MI. Corn was big leap of faith for us several year back when it was the rage here. I found as far as work all required some, more then others, except natural gas. I just adjust the thermostat and never think about it. I don't know if that is good or bad. But propane required watching tank, prepaying after watching prices. Oil was nasty. Wood we all know that work involved. Corn same as propane watching cost, then we would trailer 3,000 pounds, same as wood with filling and cleaning. Environmentaly, not sure which is better.
I grew up with wood heat and like it. I'm visiting my parents this weekend and it's been fun to watch the outdoor wood furnace. They set a pan of water on it and the birds love the heated water (every water source is frozen for mile). Dad has to go out more often to fill the water pan than he does to put wood in the furnace.
I would not mind one too much but friends have an outdoor furnace for two houses and the three brothers have to split and handle a large pickup truck load of wood each weekend. They ran thru all they had in reserve. It is obvious but you 1) must have a source of wood and 2) the labor has to be available to process it whenever needed. If sick or incapacitated, need another source of fuel.
I've found that wood smoke exacerbates my asthma.
We heated with wood a few years in the past. It was a lot cheaper and I liked being able to sit closer to the wood stove when I felt cold. But now I react even if someone is burning wood in their fireplace and I'm sitting outside next door to their house. If the world ends from an electromagnetic pulse and wood is our only option I'm in trouble.
I love the idea of a wood stove. I think it's a wonderful heat source and very homey. Plus, you can use it for cooking during a power outage and, if you put a kettle full of water on it you can add some humidity to the dry air. On the downside, I, too have asthma and simply cannot tolerate being around wood burning anymore. In fact, I prefer not to use candles in a power outage anymore because my lifelong asthma has worsened over the years.
When we lived in the mountains of FAR Northern California wood was our only source of heat for 22 years. No air conditioning, either ... we used a cooler. Wonderful heat. The power went out all the time in the winter, but we had a gas (propane) cookstove so didn't need to use our wood stove to cook on, but could have if we'd needed to. Wish we could heat with wood exclusively still, but we live in the "wilds" of a subdivision in Boise, Idaho, so ... no ... would cost too much, and don't have the truck to go into the woods to cut the wood anymore. Aaaah, the good old days ... {sigh}
Teacher Terry
3-5-15, 2:11pm
When we were young & lived in Upstate NY we used it daily. Free wood everywhere. Now on the west coast you can't burn unless you are in a house where your fireplace or woodstove was grandfathered in & the air is clean enough to burn. However, now that I have asthma I can't be around it anyways.
We lived in the mountains with a National Forest for a back yard for many years. We had frequent power outages so installed a very efficient (EPA rated) wood stove and used it as our primary heat source. The carbon emissions from gathering/processing/burning standing dead trees, in the end, were probably no more damaging than the emissions from the natural decay would have been. It also gave us a fair sense of independence and saved us a lot of money. Now that we have moved from that place and no longer rely on wood as a primary heat source I am quite content to leave the effort, the mess and the spiders in the past.
A neighbor just dropped off two dump truck loads of "assemble it yourself" firewood today, which will be my winter conditioning/strength-training project.
Yay for free heat and nice neighbors!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FR4p-gXBoU4/VlJiacNjazI/AAAAAAAARJc/b8s1oWb7r8Q/s800-Ic42/Awesomized.jpg
ToomuchStuff
11-23-15, 1:06am
Don't break the head off the fireman's axe, or get it dull and leave it that way.;)
Don't break the head off the fireman's axe, or get it dull and leave it that way.;)
Oddly, the fire axes are supposed to be kept mostly-dull, on purpose. They are used as more of an impact tool, if they are sharp they have too great a tendency to stick in roofing shingles or plywood sheathing.
Of course, nobody told me this until I sharpened every dull axe in the station to really scary sharp, trying to be helpful. Oops.
Williamsmith
11-23-15, 2:03am
Cutting and splitting and stacking firewood is one of those romantic things that works well from afar but when placed as a necessity suddenly becomes a drudgery especially if it is the only resource available. And when you happen to have grown older with a bum knee, sore back or injured shoulder one looks for a supplemental replacement like natural gas fireplace or pellet stoves. A log splitter is a necessity or several strong young men to assist.
freshstart
11-23-15, 3:22am
Cutting and splitting and stacking firewood is one of those romantic things that works well from afar
that is not my idea of romance, lol.
We had a regular fireplace and then a wood stove. Nice but made the house incredibly dusty and triggered my allergies. This house has a gas fireplace.
My 90 year old g-grandfather died with an axe in his hand, proving that heating with wood can be hazardous to your health. rrrrr
We started with a little Ben Franklin in the dining room to supplement the old and scary oil furnace in the old farm house.
When we built a house it was built around a long-wood furnace. Our falls were spent cutting and hauling 4 foot pieces of wood and sliding them down a ramp into the basement.
Long-wood was replaced by an outdoor wood furnace so at least the dangerous ramp was put out of commission.
I miss wood heat.
Looking forward to wood heat while I'm home on the Farm for Thanksgiving.
I'm never warm enough in electric forced-air heaters.
We used to have a wood stove and really liked it. But had insurance issues and had to remove it. (be sure to check your insurance!) You do always have to be careful with it, clean your flue, be careful of backpuffing, make sure all your smoke alarms are working, etc.
It is a dilemma, but I sort of feel if you have enough property, then your "polluting" isn't as bad as if you owned 1/4 acre and did it.
We have all the firewood we could ever need too.........but I do think leaving a fair amount of dead wood where it lays is important to the woods too. And it does attract insects.......which feeds the birds.
I spent from 11pm last night until 7am this morning fighting a quite large structure fire that resulted from a poorly-maintained fireplace. We managed to save the nearby guest house, art studio, barn, garage, and nearby woods. The house was a total loss. It was a pretty near thing keeping it from getting way out of hand - at one point I had to go in with a partner to deal with some flaming propane tanks, while some other folks kept us, and the tanks, buried in foam...
The inhabitants lived only because they had smoke detectors, and two detectors went off and woke them up in time, and they got out. Or I'd have been pulling bodies out of the place, the main house went up very very quickly. Please folks, check your smoke detector batteries *today*, and make sure you have enough of them installed. Your local fire department would likely be very very happy to drop by and help you with this if you give them a call.
freshstart
11-23-15, 6:55pm
checking this tomorrow, scary stuff
And today, right this very moment, two chimney-related fires at *the same time* in our small community. Gak.
freshstart
11-23-15, 6:58pm
I had a wood fireplace in my townhouse that even though the chimney was clean and the flue was open and I know how to safely tend a fire, I could not bring myself to do it with just me and the kids. Sexist but fire scares me.
Sexist but fire scares me.
Fire should scare everyone, nothing sexist about it at all :-)
Fire should scare everyone, nothing sexist about it at all :-)
Agreed!
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.