This is a question that varies to a certain extent based on the context. Is a wood burning stove green compared to other solid fuel heaters? There is reason to wholeheartedly state “yes” in response. Why?
Wood is a ‘carbon neutral’ fuel.
“Carbon Neutral’ basically refers to off-setting the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere (which is bad as CO2 is the primary contributor to Greenhouse gases) with Carbon Dioxide removed from the atmosphere during a given process (which is good as it helps to reduce Greenhouse gases). For a process to be ‘carbon neutral’, it should leave no more CO2 in the atmosphere than was there prior to the process.
In wood-burning terms, a tree absorbs CO2 as it grows and releases it only upon combustion. As long as a tree is allowed to grow and mature, the tree will not release more CO2 than it absorbed. Therefor it can be considered ‘carbon neutral’.
Wood is ‘sustainable’ as a fuel source
Being ‘sustainable’ is closely aligned with being ‘green’. The notion encourages us (humans) to avoid processes that strip the earth of resources that cannot be—or cannot easily be—replaced.
Good tree management schemes allow us to generate a fuel supply indefinitely. New trees are planted as others are harvested, ensuring continued CO2 absorption. Also that there is a supply of fuel in the future.
Unlike renewable resources, the finite supplies of oil, coal, anthracite, and gas cannot be replenished for future consumption.
Wood burners extract and convert more energy from wood that a traditional open fire.
Burning wood in an efficient wood burner significantly increases the energy extracted from the fuel and delivered as heat, compared to a traditional fireplace. This is good – less fuel consumed, therefor less CO2 produced to achieve the same heat in the home.
Most quality wood burners achieve around 75% efficiency, meaning only 25% of the wood’s energy is lost through ash and heat escaping up the chimney. These ratings do not account for the additional heat radiated by an exposed flue pipe in the room, which further improves efficiency by capturing more energy that would otherwise escape through a traditional chimney.The same measures applied to some traditional open fires yield as little as 15-20% in terms of efficiency.
Accordingly, some experts state that a wood burner will consume approximately 25% of the fuel required by a traditional open fire. This means that whilst your fire is still making ‘CO2’ it is making it at a much slower rate.
Many European stoves (particularly British) have ‘smoke reduction’ kits as an option.
In Europe, particularly the UK, there are tight regulations on the use of solid fuel heaters in high density areas. There are laws which make the production of air pollution illegal.
Smoke reduction kits cleverly control the air intake on a stove by preventing you from ‘starving’ the fire to such an extent that the fire ‘smoulders’ producing excessive amounts of smoke.
Keep in mind that a smoking fire wastes fuel that could have otherwise burned efficiently. So, burning your stove at the correct ‘rate’ is good for maximising the heat from your stove. It also reduces the air pollutants that would go up the chimney as heavy smoke.
Modern wood burners can heat an entire home while also providing hot water from the same stove.
Perhaps this one is the most easily open to debate. However, through the use of an integral ‘boiler’, a stove can heat hot water. This system can transfer heat to radiators, underfloor heating, and hot water geysers.
When done using a ‘gravity fed’ system, the system does not require a pump (for hot water heating only). This means no additional electricity required either.
All in all, by no means are wood burning stoves the ‘perfect’ heating solution in terms of ‘Green’ sensitivities. No doubt, future developments will enhance the technologies to make them cleaner and more efficient. However, there is definitely merit in the use of a woodburner compared to other solid fuel heaters right now.