Wood stoves offer an affordable and aesthetically pleasing way to heat your home while reducing your carbon footprint. They are cleaner to operate, more energy efficient and more environmentally friendly than central heating systems that run on coal, gas or oil. In fact, in the face of stringent energy-saving regulations, architects and construction contractors are increasingly turning to wood-burning stoves to design homes that allow for sustainable living.
Among other things, the main environmental benefits of wood burning stoves are the significant reduction in carbon emissions and the use of a renewable energy source.
Significantly reduced carbon emissions
The amount of carbon that wood emits while burning is considerably less than that of other fossil fuels, particularly coal. In fact, the amount of carbon emitted by burning wood is roughly the same as the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere and stored by a tree over the course of its life.
Furthermore, a tree will produce the same emissions whether it is burned or left to decompose. Therefore, the use of untreated wood, particularly waste wood, as fuel will not produce additional environmental pollutants.
Wood stoves can be a great way to reduce your carbon footprint while saving money by burning wood that would otherwise be thrown away. For example, you can collect reclaimed lumber from construction projects or lumber that has been dumped. But the harvested wood must be untreated and unpainted to avoid the emission of dangerous gases and harmful pollutants as by-products.
Renewable energy source
Unlike coal, oil, and gas, wood is a renewable energy source. Most of the firewood comes from sustainable sources where one tree is planted for every tree felled for use. Therefore, the carbon produced during the burning of the wood is offset by the planting of new trees.
But why not just burn wood on a traditional open fire? Wood stoves can produce much more heat and fewer emissions than burning wood on a grill. This is because wood burning stoves are up to three times more efficient at producing heat and therefore use less fuel. Also, in some models, the gases emitted by the burning wood can circulate back to the stove and be burned.
Wood stoves can heat water through a rear boiler, which means less coal, gas, oil, or electricity will be needed to heat water and radiators in the rest of your home.