don’t be misled, wood heating is good heating
Negative attitudes regarding the environmental effect of wood heaters are consistently misled and do not take into account the cyclical nature of firewood production and its actual benefits to the environment.
In November 2017, Deputy Mayor of Armidale Regional Council and Greens Senator Dorothy Robinson supported a policy giving it power to take action on supposed wood-fire pollution, enforcing the development of legislation that would allow local councils to remove wood heaters when houses are sold.
Dorothy’s stance on wood heating is that burning firewood in domestic wood heaters in Australia is contributing to poor air quality and increasing global warming. However, research from the CSIRO into the Life Cycle Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Domestic Woodheating found that wood heating actually produces less greenhouse gas than all other available domestic heating options Including, electricity, LPG and natural gas. (1) In addition to this, the standards in wood heating in Australia have improved significantly, ensuring that wood heaters meet requirements to burn cleanly and efficiently. The current emission limit for all new wood heaters sold in Australia is 1.5 grams of particulate emissions per kilo of wood burnt and all certified wood heaters must have an efficiency requirement of 60% or greater.
The use of wood heating is also particularly beneficial for regional areas (such as Armidale) where Dr. Robinson proposed the legislation, hence the community outrage this sparked. However, whilst wood heat is often blamed for producing harmful emissions, coal fired electricity production actually continues to be the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. In fact, if used correctly, and wood heaters that meet emission standards are installed, wood heating is a far superior alternative for providing heat to homes.
The oft-cited argument that burning wood increases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere fails to tell the full story. Wood is one of the most environmentally friendly fuels that can be used. It is a sustainable renewable energy and virtually carbon neutral.
The natural cycle of planting and harvesting trees has created a sustainable process as CO2 is taken out of the atmosphere by growing trees at the same time as it is released by the combustion of the previous harvest. Young trees actually absorb carbon dioxide, rendering wood-burning greenhouse gas neutral and the net carbon dioxide emissions far below those of fossil fuels (such as oil and natural gas), which are extracted from deep beneath the Earth’s surface and whose carbon dioxide emissions add to greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.
The Australian Home Heating Association is dedicated to supporting sustainable management of firewood, partnering with LandCare Australia to ensure the community is using firewood that has been sustainably managed. As wood can be and is continually grown, like wind and solar, it is considered to be renewable and in infinite supply, allowing homes to be heated efficiently, cleanly and cost-effectively.
