Are Log Burners Tomorrows Heating Technology?
07.08.2010 Author: Marissa Clijsters Posted in Environmental
As an example of an environmentally sound, high efficiency technology with a promising future before of it, most people likely would not straight away think of the wood burner. This is, when all is said and done, an item that seems to have altered hardly at all since its invention a couple of centuries back.
But take a deeper look and you’ll find that the old-style exterior design is only there to provide aesthetic appeal. Most modern wood burners are capable of combustion performance comparable to a regular gas boiler. Modern regulations have forced manufacturers to radically improve the internal technology in order to comply with increasingly tight standards.
Yet strangely, while most people think nothing of lighting a gas flame, they hesitate when it comes to burning logs. Perhaps because the emissions are more visible with wood smoke and of course it’s quite clearly a dead tree. But the interesting thing is that although burning wood does release carbon dioxide, growing another tree will soak back up the same amount – hence there is no net CO2 gain.
When trees are used as a managed resource, there are as many planted as are felled – and of course there is always a sizable stock representing the stages from sapling to mature tree. The point being that each tree in this cycle absorbs as much CO2 during its growth as it will release when burned (or indeed left to rot).
In contrast to fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas whereby CO2 is released to the air but never reclaimed, growing woody biomass (as trees are termed) ensures that the levels of CO2 remain in balance.
Now unless you’ve been living in cave, you’ll be aware that anything that helps to slow, halt or reverse CO2 pollution is increasingly important both and into the foreseeable future. A proven, effective and sustainable source of energy that at the very least doesn’t make matters worse is going to appear pretty dammed attractive.
With both regulatory “push” (incentive schemes and grants etc.) and consumer “pull” as more people are persuaded of the benefits, you don’t need a crystal ball to predict a rosy future ahead for the log burning stove.
For those able to make use of woodburners, this technology provides a comparatively (compared to oil and gas) cheap way of providing heat and hot water. However, it is not fully scalable and not anyway an answer to all our current problems. It is however not about to slip quietly into the history books any time soon.
