Sustainability and environmental awareness are important concepts, especially when it comes to heating. Every day, new technologies emerge to reduce CO2 emissions. But let’s be honest: sitting cozily by a wood fireplace isn’t the same as heating your home with a heat pump. That’s why we’re giving you 10 tips for sustainable heating with a wood stove or fireplace.
Weather plays an important role when lighting your wood stove. The smoke produced during burning should not linger around your home. This causes unpleasant odors for you and your neighbors, and it’s also unhealthy. Therefore, wait a bit before lighting your stove if it’s calm or foggy outside.
Your choice of wood has a big impact on sustainability. Look for firewood with a PEFC or FSC label. This label indicates that the wood comes from responsibly managed forests. This ensures that no trees are cut down in vulnerable forest areas. Additionally, the harvested forest is given the chance to regenerate.
When you light your stove with dry wood, less smoke and fine particles will be released into the air. You can easily recognize dry wood by the cracks or bark that falls off quickly from the log. Using a moisture meter, you can measure the wood’s moisture content. A percentage between 15 and 20% is ideal. If you cut your own wood, you should wait at least two years to burn sustainably. If you can’t wait and want to enjoy your new fireplace as soon as possible, you can always buy kiln-dried wood.
It’s also important to start the fire with softwood. This allows you to build up the temperature gradually. Birch wood works well for this. Once the temperature is high enough, add hardwood like beech or oak.
Burning painted, stained, or impregnated wood is prohibited. During combustion, heavy metals are released that are harmful to the environment. Glued wood, such as particleboard or laminate, is not suitable for lighting your fireplace. Additionally, paper and cardboard are not recommended as they produce a lot of smoke and fly ash.
You might be used to stacking your wood logs in a pyramid shape and lighting the fire from the bottom. If you want to heat sustainably, that’s not the best method. The Swiss method is a better choice. You build a tower with thicker logs at the bottom, then place thinner pieces of wood on top, finishing with a firelighter or dry twigs. You light the fire from the top. This method produces less smoke and the combustion happens faster.
Just like your wood stove, your chimney needs regular cleaning. Have your chimney professionally swept at least once a year. This ensures that smoke can properly escape from your stove, reducing the risk of chimney fires. You can easily check if your chimney is drawing well by lighting a match and holding it near the chimney opening. If the flame flickers upward, you’re good to go. You can also count on us for periodic maintenance.
Never close the airflow to your stove. It provides external air supply so that oxygen is not drawn from the room. New or modern wood stoves can regulate the airflow automatically. For older fireplaces or wood stoves, you need to keep the ventilation flap fully open. Never extinguish the fire yourself; allow it to burn out naturally. If you don’t, more harmful substances will be released.
Properly ventilating your home is always important, regardless of the heating method. If you have a wood stove or fireplace, it’s especially a must. As mentioned earlier, keep the ventilation flap fully open. You can also open a window, for example. This way, the fire will draw enough oxygen, allowing the smoke to escape more easily through the chimney.
The color of your flames indicates whether you are burning efficiently. If you see orange flames and dark smoke, it’s best to open a window. Combustion is good when you have yellow flames of roughly the same size. Additionally, little or white smoke is a sign of sustainable burning.
Once your stove is burning well, you naturally want to enjoy the warmth for as long as possible. By properly insulating your home, the heat is retained better. It might be a big investment, but in the long run, you’ll literally feel the benefits.
Are you ready to start a sustainable fire? With the fireplaces and stoves from JDB Fireplaces and interior, you’re in good hands. All our installations comply with current environmental regulations. Discover our range and visit our showroom.
