How many folks here use woodstoves for home heating? Is it bad for the environment IYO?

[Crystal Clarity]

This question is inspired by A) the current winter season and B) a question I put to folks in GD sometime during the summer about their energy consumption... (my use of wood heat came up incidentally, but many folks acted as if it was some 'fad' or foreign concept) LOL!

Because I live in an area where I'd guesstimate that at least 75% of the people use wood heat via woodstoves as either a main source of heat (or at the very least, a backup), I was surprised at some who acted as if this was a weird thing. One person said he thought it was a dumb 'fad'. Another claimed it was bad for the environment.

The 'fad' thing made me chuckle a bit, but I wondered about whether or not wood heat was bad for the environment. It had never occurred to me before, that it could be.

I've since read some conflicting opinions so I'm curious about yours. Personally, I think it can't be any worse then a reliance on other sources since all (except perhaps solar?) have some form of environmental impact.

Our house is well insulated and we keep our chimney(s) clean. Plus, we have recently bought a brand new energy efficient wood stove... we now only use the old one downstairs as a boost on sub-zero days. Furthermore, since we cut our own wood off of our own property (replanting of course) there is very little fossil fuel involved in this. But even for those in my state who have to buy their wood... it's all local.

So, I'm just curious; How many here use wood heat and how many think it's 'bad' for the environment?

[NEOhiodemocrat]

1. Wood stove user here!

We have heated with wood for almost 30 years. Exclusively for the last 18 (when our oil furnace blew the liner). We lived in town for 10 of those years and my husband cut yard trees for people for the firewood. Now we are out in the boonies and cut trees for others also, but generally not yard trees. Clean fence lines for farmers and cut some out of our woods. I have never felt that is it bad for the environment. Have wondered like you do about the issue however. I felt we were doing a service taking down the yard trees in town and love wood heat. I think of it as a renewable energy source, much better than oil for sure.

[old mark]

2. We use a wood pellet stove and have for the last 3 winters...works great,

very low emissions, renewable energy, not expensive and gives me a little exercise throwing 40 pound bags of pellets around. We didn't even turn our gas furnace's pilot on this season.

mark

[Warpy]

3. I've heated with wood for years

and the normal wood stove does put a tremendous amount of unburned chemicals, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulates into the air, meaning that people like me who live in valleys out west need to keep abreast of weather conditions. We have frequent no-burn days here, days when air pollution is trapped near the ground.

However, the carbon footprint of a woodstove is negligible since it cycles out of and then back into wood. Contrast that with fossil fuels, where the carbon is not being cycled back into new fossil fuel deposits at any appreciable level.

[pengillian101]

4. Wood heat...

I have lived with it way too long. Cooking on a wood stove is fun and reminiscent.

[Kennah]

5. Newer Woodstoves Are Better Than Older Ones

http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/mrgreen/2009/12/an-aged-fireplace-to-burn-or-not-to-burn.html
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/mrgreen/2007/11/hey-mr-greenwha.html
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/mrgreen/2008/09/podcast-scaveng.html

[ejpoeta]

6. we have had an outdoor wood burner for a few years now. they recently

changed the rules regarding these devices probably due to the increased number of them around recently. The price of propane is so high that if we were using propane to heat our home we would be screwed. As for environmental? I would hope it's at least better than using fossil fuels, but don't know for sure. I wish we could afford a geothermal system but there is just no way we could afford to put something like that in here.