Put Another Log on the Fire

Wood is our oldest form of energy, used for thousands of years to cook and to keep our dwellings warm. There is nothing quite like the dancing flames of a wood fire - it’s only recently with increased awareness of carbon emissions to the atmosphere and global warming that firewood as a fuel has fallen from favour.

Carbon neutral

If one looks more closely at the carbon cycle though, burning wood is actually not adding to the carbon problem. It can be totally carbon neutral if we keep on replanting the trees or maintain a coppice lot. The trees while they grow will absorb the carbon and act as a carbon sink.

The emissions of one household fire for cooking, space heating and heating water need only four leafy evergreen trees to absorb the carbon emitted over a year. The leafy area of a large tree can be several hectares, each leaf taking in CO2 and giving off oxygen.

A coppice woodlot maintained well and cut in rotation can provide fuelwood for generations sustainably. The firewood trees can be interplanted with nitrogen-fixing species to get free atmospheric nitrogen into the root areas and the grass between the trees can be grazed with animals to get extra fertility through urine and manure.

To keep our pollution low however it is important to have a properly functioning double combustion heating or cooking stove. Other important factors are proper maintenance and correct seasoning and storage of firewood. The most efficient heating system is useless unless the house is well insulated, double glazed and with sufficient thermal mass to store the heat. With oil, gas and electricity going up in price renewable firewood will be in favour again. So keep on planting trees.