As the second lockdown hits, we are once again spending more time working from home. With not many places to go, no pubs or restaurants to visit, and not being able to see loved ones, we need to concentrate on the positive things we have around us. While it doesn’t quite match the joy of seeing loved ones and friends, if you have a wood-burning stove, there are a number of simple benefits that burning wood can bring to you.
Below are a few warming points to think about during these tough times…
1 – It Makes You Self Reliant
You’re no longer (fully) reliant on the grid. You have your own fuel, and no power cut or outage of any sort will cause you to freeze!
Although a power cut or gas outage will be a major inconvenience, unless you are totally off-grid, at least with burning wood, you will be able to keep warm.
Depending on the set up you have in your home, you could also use it to heat other rooms and your water too.
2 – It’s Green
Well, hopefully not when you burn it, but when you consider more CO2 is produced from rotting wood on the forest floor, than when it’s correctly burnt on a high-efficiency wood-burning stove, you know you are doing something rather amazing….
3 – You Have a Selection
With gas or electricity, you generally only really have one sort, it’s either, gas form or electric form! With wood, you are free to select different types of wood, based on what you want, and what you have access to. While we would always recommend burning the most efficient type of wood (you can read our wood-burning guide here) there is a selection, and this really appeals to a lot of people. Woods like Ash produce a steady flame and great heat.
While wood such as apple produces a wonderful smell, as does cherry, which can also spit and sparkle at times, which is not always ideal, but that said – you have a choice.
4 – Other Are Starting To Understand…..
That not all wood burning is the same! Until recently there has been lots of misinformation around burning wood, namely some media outlets failing to distinguish between open fires (which have an efficiency of around 20%) and a high-efficiency stove (which has an efficiency of around 80%) «burning wood is bad» – the misinformation liberally chirped.
The 2019 Clean Air Strategy, acknowledge how Ecodesign stoves are helping to significantly reduce the emissions around burning wood, and clearly differentiates these stoves from open fires.
5 – Budget Friendly
With burning wood, you know exactly how much you are burning and how much you have left. No nasty surprise bills from the gas or electricity company. This is great for those on a budget, or for those that really like to be in full control of their expenses.
6 – Ready to Burn – Woodsure
Ready to Burn is an initiative from Woodsure – the UK’s only wood fuel quality assurance scheme, to help homeowners look after their stoves and improve air quality. This initiative makes it easy for consumers to only buy correctly seasoned wood (wood, which has a moisture content below 20%). You are able to search for a local assured dealer here
7 – Keeps You Fit
Assuming you are chopping up your own wood – it’s a great cardio workout. But even if you don’t, lifting and moving wood from a bulk delivery into the wood store, and then into the home for imminent firing, can all contribute to you moving more.
8 – Nothing beats the look and feel of wood-burning
There is something very primaeval about burning wood. The hypnotic look of flames dancing on the logs, the sounds and smells all add up to something quite magical….
