9 April

Wood fires in the home are like the ultimate triumph of fantasy over reality. 80-90% of the heat goes straight up the chimney. If it’s an open wood fire, the updraught the chimney creates then sucks even more heat out of the rest of your house, straight up the chimney. Your house gets *colder*, by lighting an open wood fire. A closed wood stove helps against that, but those also send 80-90% of their heat straight up the chimney. If you’re paying a few hundred bucks per tonne (not uncommon) for firewood, 90% of that money again goes straight up the chimney. If you’re cutting it yourself, 90% of your effort goes straight up the chimney. The smoke is also more toxic than cigarette smoke. The neighbours hate you for it, and your family is basically chain smoking all day and night. A closed wood stove doesn’t help a lot there, because the smoke particles are so fine they escape easily, and also exit your chimney and find their way back into the house, because no house is airtight.