Energy prices, which rise and fall (and rise again), the growing need to enjoy independence and live a little more “off-grid”, and of course, the growing range of options and design styles…..There are so many reasons why burning wood is so good. Here are eight of the best.
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, that is! But when you consider that more CO2 is produced by letting wood rot on the forest floor than when it’s correctly burned on a high-efficiency wood-burning stove, you know you are doing something rather amazing. Despite some misinformation in the media, burning wood, as long as it’s done on an Ecodesign stove with correctly seasoned wood, is highly environmentally friendly.
3 – You Have a Selection
With gas or electricity, you generally only have one sort—it’s either gas or electric! 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, 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.
4 – Others Are Starting To Understand…..
There has been lots of misinformation around burning wood, which includes 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%). Also, misleading sensationalised news comparing Ecodesign stoves to HGVs has been repeatedly debunked, including in one of our articles.
5 – Budget Friendly
Burning wood allows you to know exactly how much you are burning and how much you have left. There are no nasty surprise bills from the gas or electricity company. This is great for those on a budget or for those who 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….
