- Sun yesterday, rain today. Lately, lounging in the brief blessing of early spring sun seems to be ideal, but after a too short while, the chillies return and there is a need to get moving! If you use a fireplace, and care about the planet, now is the time to get your wood in for next year ‘cause it’s got to be dry to burn efficiently.
In the old days they said “Wood should be split before Easter so it can dry during spring and summer.” Preparing for next year’s wood store gives the wood sufficient time to cure and then burn efficiently.
Why not wet wood? Burning wet wood creates excessive smoke – that’s wasted fuel, and more particulates that are a serious and harmful form of emissions.
If you are buying wood, buy it this spring from a sustainable source on island… you will have dry wood by fall and firewood usually costs less in spring than during the fall “We’re out of firewood!” buying frenzy.
Wood fuel for heating is sustainable if and only if is converted efficiently into heat. Old wood stoves, and of course decorative “fireplaces” that send most of the heat right up the chimney, might give a cozy feel but the actual warmth is nothing compared to the super-efficiency of a certified and high-quality wood-burning stove, which can also reduce the use of less earth-friendly heating methods like heating oil, natural gas, propane or electric heaters. Note that in BC we are net importers of power, and those imports are ‘dirty fuels’ ~ so please don’t be fooled that our utility consumption in BC is all ‘Green’ by any means.
Bottom line: If you heat with wood, do so with an efficient stove, and with well-seasoned firewood.
So dear Salt Springers! ……
- Season wood outdoors through the summer for at least 6 months before burning it. Properly seasoned wood is darker, has cracks in the end grain, and sounds hollow when smacked against another piece of wood.
- Store wood outdoors, stacked neatly off the ground with the top covered. And here is a cool tip…. if you stack the wood with the bark on the top, it takes longer for the moisture to penetrate the cell walls, with the bark acting as a lid. So stack with the bark side on the bottom for greater efficiency in drying.
- If you have yet to build a woodshed – consider building it so it is south facing – allowing for the sun to aide in the drying process.
- And it bears repeating…. when wood is not burned completely or efficiently, the resulting smoke contains a number of chemicals, one of which is carbon monoxide (CO). Take care of yourself and the planet!
TSS advocates for clean air and healthy living. We do not advocate the use of wood burning, but if you do it, please do so with sense.
Why isn’t wood-burning such a clear choice over other options? Consider that wood oxidizes into carbon whether it decomposes on the forest floor or gets burned in a stove. After a tree reaches maturity it dies because of rot and insect infestation and falls to the forest floor. There, it decomposes, a process of slow oxidation which emits CO2. In fact, whether a tree is processed into firewood and burned, or whether it dies and decomposes on the forest floor, the same amount of CO2 is emitted – burning the wood emits CO2 over a much shorter period of time.
What matters however, is how you burn the wood – if burned moist, or inefficiently, you are contributing to significant particulate matter in the atmosphere. It’s not necessarily It’s the smoke that is the problem. Burning wood badly (using wet wood or letting a fire smoulder) can release excess methane, a gas that has a greenhouse impact 20 times greater than that of CO2. What’s more, burning wood in an open fireplace releases large amounts of ash in the smoke. The particulate matter in smoke is not healthy and can cause illnesses like bronchitis and aggravate chronic heart and lung diseases. Wood smoke becomes air pollution once it goes up the chimney.
So a warm, healthy snuggle by the fire next winter? Why not? You have done it with care and reduced the winter chub around the belly this year cause you got out early spring chopping and stacking your wood stores! Here’s to a sustainable year!
– by Patti Bauer