Why wood is an excellent alternative if you need to heat your home…
If you have a stove or fireplace that can burn wood fuel, there are some amazing benefits to be had if you choose wood to heat your home, over fossil fuels or gas.
Wood creates an amazing ambience, as it burns beautifully, with a wonderful flame. It’s perfect for cosy nights by the fireside and has a gorgeous, rich, complex aroma as it burns, unlike other fuels, which either smell horrid, or are completely odourless.
Then there’s the environmental benefits.
Despite the misplaced belief that burning wood contributes to deforestation, sustainably sourced wood is a fully renewable source of energy. It’s much kinder to our ecosystem than fossil fuels or gas. Wood fuel suppliers in the UK are required by law to plant a tree for every one they fell, so if you purchase your wood, you can be assured you are purchasing a totally carbon neutral fuel.
This means fossil fuels and gas take much longer to renew, and they also have a finite supply.
Another great benefit wood offers is its carbon output. This is extremely low compared to other fuels, at just 0.008kg. Gas weighs in at 0.198kg, while electricity produces a much higher, 0.517kg.
Wood is a totally natural product, so it’s great for both the environment and for human health. It’s the oldest form of heating, and has been burnt for thousands of years, before we ever had electricity or central heating.
If everyone burnt wood instead of using fossil fuels, carbon emissions would be reduced by up to 90%!
Wood can even be free if you live in the right area, though fresh cut wood is not your best option, as the moisture content will be extremely high, causing excess smoke. It’s much better to use a product like Hottie’s Heat Logs, made of highly compressed sustainably sourced wood chips and sawdust, with a moisture content of less than 5%.
Heat logs like this will give a clean burn with no spitting or sparking and can be used to top up your regular wood supply or burn alone.
Wood is also the ideal emergency back-up fuel if there is a power cut and you can’t rely on other fuels. Even if you’re a regular user of electric or gas, it’s a good idea to have a store of wood fuel around, for those times when you need heat but have no access to power.
If cost is an issue, wood fuel could be the perfect choice, as it will heat the place it burns in, allowing you to selectively warm some areas of your home, and leave other, unused areas unheated. With central heating you end up paying to heat the whole house, even if you only use two or three rooms.
There are other economic reasons to make the switch to wood. It’s much cheaper to burn than electricity or gas, and apart from a wood burning stove, or fireplace, doesn’t require any initial outlay or expenditure.
Just one Hottie’s heat log can burn for up to 90 minutes, and can heat a whole room, so over time, burning wood works out at a more cost-effective option than paying those sky-high heating bills.
There are issues with freshly cut non-sustainable wood, as it does release some carbon, but only as much as it absorbs while growing. It also can produce a lot of smoke. Purchasing quality, dry heat logs from a sustainable supplier though circumvents both these issues and guarantees you a beautifully clean burn too.
