As an example of an environmentally sound, high efficiency technology with a promising future before of it, most people probably would not instantly think of the wood burner. This is, after all, a device that appears to have altered hardly at all since its original development a couple of centuries back.
Yet lurking within its intentionally dated styling lies a highly effective, high combustion burner that can essentially hold its own against the average domestic gas boiler. Despite appearances, the wood burner has come a long way in recent years, largely in response to tougher controls but also due to improved materials and design.
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 other words, whatever is put into the air is always removed again by new growth – a balanced CO2 cycle. Compare this with conventional fossil fuels which cannot be replaced. Here the CO2 goes in only one direction – into the atmosphere.
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.
You can already see how wood burning is shaping up for a comfortable future in both the number of people adopting it as either a primary of supplemental source of heating, and the shift in regulations to encourage it.
Being as it is also relatively cheap to run compared to typical gas and oil systems, wood burning clearly has significant appeal to those people in a position to adopt it. It is not however any kind of cure-all for the many problems of the world. But the advantages are such that it has certainly reserved its place among the technologies of the future.
If you found this interesting then be sure to check out these additional articles to find out much more about the modern wood burner and wood burning in general.
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