Alternative heating fuels - Healthy Life Essex

Over the past few years heating bills have risen markedly, largely to ongoing gas price rises. One alternative means of heating is a wood burning stove. These may not only be a cheaper to run than electric heating, but a number of conservation charities now argue that burning wood could be better for the environment than traditional fuels. 

Burning any fuel – wood, gas, oil or coal – releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But when we burn wood, the amount of carbon released is the same as was absorbed by the tree when it was growing. In fact, when trees die and decay, the carbon they contain will be released anyway; so we’re just making it work for us first. 

However, in order to balance out those inevitable carbon emissions, a new tree needs to be planted to replace the one that was burnt. This new tree can then re-absorb the carbon dioxide given off. It’s therefore important to make sure firewood is obtained from a reputable, sustainable source. Also, the wood should be dried for at least a year to reduce its moisture content – this releases more energy into a room and reduces the amount of pollutants given off. 

There is an increasing demand for firewood and other plant material to try to offset carbon emissions from heating. Do have a look at our article Green Heat by Jason Scarlett, a local expert in the installation of wood-burning stoves.

The Energy Saving Trust and Biomass Energy Centre websites also contain lots of helpful information on this subject.

www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

www.biomassenergycentre.org.uk