On a chilly evening there is nothing more relaxing
than gathering around a warm, cozy fire that radiates rich, soothing heat. The
only greater comfort comes from knowing that you are also helping to protect
your neighborhood air quality from excessive wood smoke. So, how can you enjoy a
wood fire that emits very little smoke? The answer is simple&burn wood
responsibly!
What is Responsible Wood Burning?
Responsible wood burning is
about minimizing the emissions from a wood fire. It entails practicing
responsible wood burning habits (such as building small hot fires, using
seasoned wood or manufactured firelogs) and using low emission wood burning
hearth products (such as wood burning stoves and fireplace inserts certified by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and new state-of-the-art clean burning
fireplaces) to help reduce wood smoke by more than 85 percent. Essentially,
burning wood responsibly is about doing the right thing for you, your family,
and your neighbors while protecting your ability to burn wood well into the
future.
Wood Heat is in Demand
With recurring concerns about the high
cost of home heat, many people throughout North America are once again heating
their homes with firewood. As a renewable, biomass fuel, firewood is abundant
and inexpensive. Burning wood for heat also helps people take control of high
home heating bills and can even keep a house warm when the power goes
out.
The Need to Burn Responsibly
Despite available technologies,
many wood fires are still built in either traditional fireplaces or older wood
stoves and fireplace inserts manufactured, sold and installed before 1988.
Because of the inefficiency and the lack of smoke control technology in these
older hearth products, burning firewood in these wood burners can produce
significantly more smoke than is necessary.
Hearth Industry Protecting Clean Air
For more than a decade,
hearth products manufacturers have been developing and manufacturing wood
burning hearth products that emit, in many cases, less than 6 grams of emissions
per hour (EPA-certified products need to emit no more than 7.5 grams per hour)
compared to the 42 grams of particulates per hour from wood burners manufactured
in the 70s and 80s. In addition to these appliances, there are now companies
that produce manufactured wood fuels, such as manufactured firelogs and wood
pellets, which help reduce wood smoke. To help spread the word about the
availability of these products, the hearth industry including specialty
retailers is actively involved in public education efforts that encourage
people within North America to change out old hearth products for low emission
wood burning hearth products. Specialty retailers are also actively involved in
teaching people how to practice responsible wood burning habits.
