Is wood an alternative to gas?
The government is turning off the gas tap, and as a result we are searching ever more fanatically for other fuel to heat a home. A material that has always been the counterpart of natural gas is wood. The question that now arises, however, now that more people are burning wood, is; is this natural fuel better than gas. We have listed the advantages and disadvantages of burning wood.
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01The attractive aspect of burning wood
Burning wood has a very attractive aspect. Not only is it a material that is almost always readily available. It is also a material that gives off a very atmospheric warmth. A wood stove gives off heat to heat a house, but it also creates a warm atmosphere. The material has a specific smell that makes it pleasant to burn in a house. Wood is therefore a material that gives a house a character all of its own. It is a material that is a worthy replacement for natural gas.
02The health effects of a wood stove
However, there is a backlash under way. An army of critics argues that burning wood leads to health problems in the longer term. This has to do with the particulate matter in the smoke released when wood is burned. This particulate matter can affect the airways, causing people to suffer from complaints such as asthmatic bronchitis and COPD. These effects occur not only in the short term but in many cases also in the longer term. It is currently being investigated whether forms of cancer can possibly be traced back to living in an area where wood is burned as fuel.
Burning wood in an alternative form
The wood stove as it is now sold will therefore probably never become a good alternative to the use of natural gas. It is a fact, though, that wood is not by definition unsuitable for heating a house. It is always possible to choose a form of wood burning in which less or no particulate matter is released into the air. Think, for example, of burning pellets. We will now go into this in a little more depth.
Waste as fuel
Pellets are granules made from compressed wood waste. This wood waste comes from wood processing companies. The result is a material that can be burned in granule form. These pellets are burned in a so-called pellet stove. These pellets are of such a substance that less particulate matter is released when they are burned. The material is naturally drier, so there is less smoke development when the pellets are burned. In this way a house is heated with the warmth of wood, while the health risks are avoided.
Is wood an alternative to gas?
We have to get off gas. Is burning wood a good alternative? Find out here why or why not.
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