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Understanding Wood Burning A few minutes spent understanding the unique qualities of wood & wood burning will be time well spent, giving you a better understanding of how you can burn efficiently and safely. Through the process of photosynthesis, trees are able to store solar energy as chemical energy (volatiles) that we can use for heat when the sun abandons us to the cold dark days of winter. Burning wood is just the quick reversal of this process, liberating the sun's heat when we need it most. Although carbon makes up about half the weight of firewood and is released as carbon dioxide when the wood is burned, it is part of a natural cycle. A tree absorbs carbon dioxide from the air as it grows and uses this carbon to build its structure. When the tree falls and decays in the forest, or is processed into firewood and burned, the carbon dioxide is released again to the atmosphere. Burning firewood properly releases no more harmful greenhouse gases than would be produced were the wood to simply rot on the forest floor.

Firewood Available Heat  Tree Species (Million Btu/Cord) Almond 24 Apple 24 Locust, Black 24 Madrone 24 Oak, Live 24 Oak, White 23 Oak, Red 21 Walnut, Black 20 Walnut, English 20 Alder 19 Cherry 19 Fir, Douglas 19 Maple 19 Sycamore 18 Elm 17 Fir, White 15 Cedar 14 Hemlock 14 Pine, Ponderosa 12 Pine, Sugar 12 Pine, White 12 Poplar 12 Redwood 12 Willow 12 When oil and gas are burned, carbon that has been buried within the earth for thousands of years is released in the form of carbon dioxide, a by-product of combustion. The result is an increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, the main cause of the greenhouse effect. Burn Smart - Burn Clean - Burn Efficiently

This cycle can be repeated forever without increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide if we burn wood efficiently. Burning efficiently is the key, if you have a wood stove that was manufactured before 1990, you should replace it immediately. Older wood stoves were designed to smolder wood for maximum heat but they emit at least 4 times the pollution of newer models. When using a fireplace build a small hot fire, or use an air aided grate such as the EcoFire Super-Grate.

Pollution and Wood Burning

------------------------- The EcoFire Super-Grate Burns at Temperatures from 1600 - 2000 degrees. Technical Paper

The pollution caused by wood burning is the result of incomplete combustion. Without getting too technical, let us simply explain that wood is composed of water, carbon and volatiles. As wood starts to burn, it first gives up its moisture. After the water boils off and the temperature is increased to 450º the wood particles begin to put off volatiles. The ignition or combustion of volatiles is your primary source of heat and visible flame. Most volatiles ignite at temperatures ranging from 1000º - 1400º F. The temperatures in a typical fireplace fire range from 900º - 1200º at the hottest glowing parts to 200º- 400 º where you see the flames. So, most fireplaces are not going to ever get hot enough to burn off these volatiles. Instead of releasing their heat energy, these volatiles will escape up your chimney as the smoke and particulate matter that you see & smell inside and outside of your home. With today's technology, you can significantly reduce the pollution, while at the same time, lessening the demands on our wood sources by getting more heating efficiency out of every log that you burn. Think about investing in an EPA certified wood stove or an EcoFire™ Super-Grate. Both promote temperatures exceeding 1600º giving the volatiles the opportunity to combust completely.

How To Burn Safely & Efficiently

• Retrofit inefficient fireplaces with an EcoFire™ Super-Grate for an open natural fire.
• Replace old wood stoves with EPA certified models manufactured after 1990.
• If you have glass doors on a fireplace that does not have outside combustion air - keep them open while burning. Closing them may starve your fire for oxygen and double the pollution - not to mention making it harder to keep a good fire going.
• Don't burn anything but clean seasoned wood, manufactured logs and non-glossy white paper.
• Don't burn driftwood.
• Never burn garbage or colored and coated paper and cardboard.
• The most efficient fires are small hot fires, not large smoldering fires.
• Don't burn when local Air Quality boards ask for "Spare the Air Days".
• Have your fireplace and chimney inspected regularly by a qualified professional.
• Get in the habit of visually checking the emissions from your chimney. Apart from the time just after lighting, a properly burning fire should only show a thin wisp of white steam coming out of your chimney.

About Fireplaces, Wood stoves, & Inserts

The following chart compares the most common wood burning devices, giving you heat efficiency and pollution ranking.

• Heating Efficiency Certified Stoves & Inserts Airtight Stoves Fireplace Insert EcoFire™ Super-Grate Free Standing Fireplace Manufactured Open Fireplaces Masonry Fireplaces

  best worst

  Pollution Rating Certified Stoves & Inserts EcoFire™ Super-Grate Airtight Stoves Zero Clearance Manufactured Pre-EPA Phase II Inserts Manufactured Open Fireplaces Masonry Fireplaces Pre EPA Certified Wood Stoves

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  If you are looking to wood to be your primary heat source for your home. Then you might want to consider an airtight wood stove, or an EPA certified Insert. They are efficient burners, meaning you will get the most heat value out of your wood, and produce less pollution. One of the reasons that they are so efficient is because they provide a "closed" system, that does not steal air from the room to fuel the fire, the drawback being that you will not be able to gaze into your cozy warm fire. These units are fairly expensive and need to be professionally installed. But well worth it if your intention is to heat your house primarily from wood. If you are simply interested in the warmth & ambiance of an open fire... the preferable choice is the open fireplace. But for clean efficient burning it is important to consider upgrading with the latest technologies. With a traditional open fireplace the temperatures never reach the high temperatures needed to burn off the pollutants, these pollutants will coat the inside of your chimney with creosote, and pollute the air. Fortunately, there is a solution.

  The EcoFire™ Super-Grate Scientifically engineered, the EcoFire™ Super-Grate applies the principles of complete combustion to the fireplace to achieve a new standard of convenience & performance for the home. With the aid of heated air jets, the EcoFire™ Super-Grate can ignite full size logs in minutes using only newspaper for kindling. Because it reaches the high temperatures necessary to burn off the pollutants, it reduces the pollution that a normal fire generates by 60%, reducing the creosote build up inside your chimney, and leaves less ash for easy clean up. It is not a awkward insert, that will obstruct your view of the fire, it is an affordable way to burn efficiently, and comes with no installation headaches.

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• Benefits of the EcoFire™ Super-Grate: Reduces Pollution by 60% Ease of Lighting - One Match Ignition Needs No Installation - Retrofits Most Fireplaces Safer Than Gas Increases Efficiency of Fireplace Dramatically Reduces Creosote Buildup Easily Burns Even Damp Wood Uses Less Wood Heat Shield protects vulnerable mortar and masonry of the fireplace and reflects more heat into the room.

Links about Wood-burning & Hearth Products

Rumford Fireplaces  http://www.rumford.com

Chimneys.com http://www.chimneys.com/

Wisconsin's Renewable Energy Yellow Pages: http://www.doa.state.wi.us/deir/yelpages.htm

Wood-Heat: http://www.wood-heat.com/

Hearth Products Association: http://www.hearthassoc.org/

Chimney Safety Institute of America: http://www.csia.org/

The Oregon Hearth Products Association: http://www.ohpa.org