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November 12, 2010 | Comments: 0

Woodstoves and Fireplaces: No Smoke is Good Smoke

As the weather gets chilly, many people cozy up to woodstoves. But woodstoves, as well as fireplaces, are a source of both indoor and outdoor air pollution.

Pollutants released by burning wood—including carbon monoxide and nitrogen di­oxide, as well as fine particles—can cause nose and throat irritation, trigger or worsen respiratory conditions (such as asthma), and contribute to heart disease. Cigarette smokers exposed to wood smoke face a higher risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Wood smoke also modestly increases the risk of lung cancer, a recent study in Environmental Health Perspectives concluded.

Woodstoves today are safer, more efficient, and less polluting than they used to be. Since 1990 the EPA has required all new woodstoves to use “clean-burn” technology. If your woodstove is old, you should upgrade to an EPA-certified one, which releases far less smoke than old models—2 to 5 grams of particulates an hour, versus 40 to 60 grams. And because they burn cleaner, EPA-certified woodstoves save wood. Pellet-burning woodstoves are also less polluting than log-burning ones, according to the EPA, even if not certified, as are vented natural gas stoves.

If you use a woodstove or fireplace, follow these guidelines for cleaner air:

• Make sure your woodstove is properly installed and vented. You should not smell smoke or see much smoke from the chimney. Woodstoves, fireplaces, and chimneys should be inspected and cleaned regularly.

• Use seasoned wood—wood that has been dried and stored outside for at least six months. It should sound hollow when you hit it against another piece of wood. Stack wood outside, off the ground and covered. Don’t use wet, moldy, or rotting wood. Buy wood, if you can, from companies that replant trees or follow other sustainable forestry practices.

• Don’t burn treated or pressed wood, plywood, or driftwood in a woodstove. Don’t burn garbage, cardboard, plastics, or anything with colored ink, paint, or glue on it. These can all produce toxic fumes.

• Build small, hot fires—not large, smoky ones. Start with dry kindling or clean newspaper. As the fire burns down, rake embers into a mound and add new wood, several pieces at a time. Keep the stove door closed at all other times.

• If you use a fireplace, consider installing an EPA-certified fireplace insert, which will make it as efficient as a woodstove (otherwise, an open fireplace is a net energy loser). It may be expensive, but it reduces fuel use and pollution. 

• A well-insulated home loses less heat and thus requires less wood for burning, so if possible, upgrade your insulation, replace old windows, weather-strip, and use storm windows. Consider keeping the thermostat lower also.

• For more information on safe wood-burning practices, from the EPA, click here.

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