With winter here it seems appropriate to discuss wood fireplace issues. Now, first of all wood burning fireplaces or wood stoves are not so green. They smell nice, look cozy, and keep your home sort of warm, but there are better green options if you have a choice. For example a pellet stove is a good green choice if you heat your home frequently with fire. Pellet stoves are also a smart financial move as you can sometimes score a tax credit on them.
That said, I have more experience with wood burning so we’re going to discuss that today. When I lived in Humboldt, we lived in a tiny (very old) logging town, and the homes were so old the only heat the houses there had was a wood burning stove. I felt super guilty about all the wood too – and yeah, that’s one downside of wood burning anything. You have to have wood. To green your wood stove or wood burning fireplace do the following…
- Buy local wood not wood that’s been shipped in.
- Buy hardwood such as oak, hickory, or eucalyptus which give more heat as they burn then other, softer woods.
- Don’t burn green (or un-seasoned wood) because it won’t heat nearly as well and is not as good for your chimney. If you’ve never heated with wood you may be surprised to hear that you have to season it. Seasoned wood basically means dry wood. Fresh cut wood is wet; too wet to burn so you need to dry it out. Chop it then stack it on pallets, not the ground. It helps if you buy your wood well ahead of time (like in the summer) so it has ample time to dry out before winter. Do not stack too near a wall or fence because the wood nearest the structure won’t dry out as well. You’ll need to cover the whole pile loosely with a tarp, one that keeps the rain out while also letting air circulate.
- Have your chimney cleaned once a year.
- Try to plant some trees if you feel guilty about your wood use.
- The most eco-friendly option are Enviro-Logs because they’re made with 100% waxed old corrugated cardboard boxes used for fresh vegetables and have a much smaller emission BUT I’ve never used them personally. Since wood was our only source of heat we needed a lot of it and mad-made logs are always more costly. I don’t know how much Enviro-Logs cost, but I’m guessing too much if wood is your primary source of heat. That said, if your wood fires are more for ambiance, I’d say use these eco-friendly logs.
[image via stock.xchng]
Post from: Blisstree