About wood

Wood heating - cheap, comfortable and sustainable

Considering the increasing price of oil and gas, wood is gaining more and more importance as an alternative source of energy. In German private homes, the consumption of firewood was about 20 millions of cubic meter in 2005, that is more than twice the demand in 2000  trend is still increasing. This increasing demand is also shown by the growing requests of suitable fireplaces and heating systems. Only in 2008, in Germany 300.000 among wood-burning ovens, stoves and majolica stoves were sold.

Modern wood-burning stoves achieve an efficiency rate of over 80%, granting the most efficient utilization of firewood with minor consequences for the environment. A romantic fireplace provides soon and cheaply  the pleasant warmth at home.

Comparing heating costs
How much can be saved by using beech-wood instead of oil for heating, is easily shown by a comparison: Taking as an example an apartment of 50 sq. m. in a building of the 80s, it will take approx 150 Kilowatt/h/sq.m. to heat it over the cold period in winter against 828 l. oil. Considering an average price of 0.65 Euro/Litre (average price in the Germany in October 2009), a total expense of 538 Euro must be accounted. For the same heating performance just 4.3 cords firewood would suffice which means (at 65 Euro per cord) a total cost of 280 Euro. By using beech-wood a saving of approximately 260 Euro is assured.

Environmental sustainability
Wood heating has recently been given new attention concerning environmental impact and renewability of the resources. Burning wood will release an amount of emissions in the environment not exceeding the amount of  CO2 that was taken in by the tree in its growth stage. This is the same amount of carbon dioxide released by the decomposition of the organic waste. For this reason we can say that wood burning is CO2 neutral. Furthermore, wood burning helps protecting the reserves of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. That’s why wood represents a valid alternative to the expensive oil.

However, efficient heating and minimized emissions require compliance to some basic rules for firewood preparation.

Pleasant and healthy home climate
A larger use of wood energy would not only benefit the global climate but also the final users and their home climate: nearly everyone associates the warmth of a stove or a fireplace with feelings like “intimacy”, “comfort”, “healthy radiant warmth”, “feeling of protection”. A scientific study has shown that this feeling of wellness is much more diffused among owners of a stove or a chimney than the rest of interviewed. 93% of people having a stove or fireplace feel they are living healthy, while the same feeling is declared by only 61,4% of non owners! The reasons of this positive feeling may be related to the fact that fire reminds of the sun and is therefore considered very pleasant.  

Criteria for a pleasant home climate:
Room temperature: 18-20 °C (ideal value), 18-20 °C (majolica stove), 21-23 °C (central heating)
Wall temperature: 20-22 °C (ideal value), 18-20 °C (majolica stove), 14-16 °C (central heating)
Air humidity: 40-60% (ideal value), 40-60% (majolica stove), 32-50% (central heating)

Air quality: whirls of dust are reduced for stove–heating and numerous with central heating  

Result
Wood heating through stove or chimney not only helps creating a positive and comfortable atmosphere at home, but may also be a valid economical and ecological alternative to oil or natural gas, if some basic conditions are met. This is true particularly in the middle seasons, when heating of single spaces at certain times of the day are often an issue.