Heating with wood: why choose this heating method?

Heating with wood ? In whole or in addition, the wood heating is the most economical and ecological energy which is, provided you are well equipped! Currently, it is an energy which, if the installation is well designed, can prove to be very comfortable while being very interesting financially. In other words: you can combine comfort and financial savings while, of course, preserving planetary resources.

Why choose wood heating?

Here are a few pitches that should hopefully and without any commercial interest convince you to choose firewood. Wood is a real sustainable energy unlike other alternative energies, the worst of which is undoubtedly geothermal sold as green energy when it is not. It is however widely defended by EDF… and other sellers of electricity.

But beware, wood heating also has some drawbacks that you should be aware of. Yesterday, the log was the only way to heat with wood, but today there are many forms of wood, some of which, like wood pellets or wood pellets, have the level of comfort equal to oil or gas.

Is heating with wood a good choice? Without a doubt !

The advantages of heating with wood

  • Can be used in addition to heating an oil or gas boiler. For example for the inter-seasons where the classic boiler has a poor performance and could be cut (at least for heating).
  • Zero or almost zero CO2 balance
  • Inexpensive wood fuel compared to the price of fossil fuels (see comparative prices of heating fuels)
  • Very low wood price if you do it entirely yourself. It will cost you time, sweat and some expense
  • Completely renewable source of energy on condition that the forest is managed in a sustainable way (which is the case in the majority of Western European countries).
  • Play sports for those who split their wood or even chop down their wood themselves!
  • Varied choice of fuels of different shapes and origins: from traditional logs to pellets from sawmill waste, including shredded wood! See the types of firewood that exist
  • Development or maintenance of the local economy! By heating with wood at home, you create sustainable and local jobs in your region!
  • Development of new econological sectors: more sharing of renewable wealth, more local players, less power for the big energy lobbies ...
  • Valorization of wood by-products (cutting waste, sawdust, etc.): 2nd economic development.
  • Low price fluctuation (although wood prices are aligned to some extent with oil).
  • Morally, this makes you less responsible and dependent on oil and gas conflicts and international geopolitics.
  • Beauty of a flame visible in the living room, stove or fireplace can add an important "cachet" to your home.
  • Anti-depression and relaxing psychological function of stoves or inserts with visible flame. In addition, the beneficial effect on morale of infrared radiation (which all stoves emit) has been known and recognized by medicine since the 60s (research carried out by NASA during the Apollo program in particular).
Read also:  Drying of firewood according to air humidity

The disadvantages of heating with wood

  • Binding if you use 100% wood (DHW and heating included).
  • Service and maintenance generally higher than fuel oil or gas.
  • Requires constant attention (ie periodic reloading) except for automatic feed devices (chipped wood, pellets).
  • The prices are not regulated: they vary from one region to another.
  • Low power regulation (except pellets) and therefore requires a much larger storage volume than fuel oil. Example: it takes 3,5 times more volume with pellets than with fuel and almost 10 times more with chipped wood.
  • Requires a dry and ventilated storage place.
  • Fouling the chimney more quickly, especially if the fuel wood is of poor quality. Read the article on different types of firewood.
  • Can pollute heavily on CO (deadly!), Particles and soot with an improperly adjusted heater or poor quality fuel (see analyzes of the combustion of wood)
Read also:  The types of firewood

Learn more about wood heating

The choice of material for heating with wood

- How to correctly choose a wood heating appliance? (stove, boiler or boiler)
- List of stoves and boilers labeled "Green Flame"
- Help and advice for choosing a wood stove
- Choose the power of his wood stove
- The normalized power heaters Wood
- Choosing a wood boiler

Daily wood heating: maintenance and improvements

- The different types and prices of firewood fuel
- Heating and wood fireplace: How to avoid chimney fires. Maintenance and dimensions
- Regulation about the chimneys, the standards and the law
- Make a hot water collector on a wood stove
- The manufacture of pellets: diagram of a factory

Pollution from wood burning

- Wood heating and pollution on health
- wood heating pollution
- Atmospheric emissions of firewood and biomass energy

Feedback on wood heating:

- Complete file on the presentation of a pellet boiler installation at a private home
- Presentation and photos of another pellet boiler installation in Alsace at a private home
- Presentation of a wooden and solar house
- Auto installation of our wood boiler Deom Turbo explanations and mounting scheme
- Estimation of the real efficiency of a Turbo Deom boiler stove

Go even further:  forum wood heating, heating and insulation

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