Are fireplaces and wood stoves a "clean way" to heat your home?

Question

I heard that wood burning stoves and fireplaces are cleaner then regular natural gas operated heaters...why? and is that true?

Answer 1

A natural gas stove is going to be the cleanest fireplace to use. It has high efficiency, is cheaper to run, and doesn't suffer from those pesky 'No burn' days that your local counties may issue.

One thing to ensure however is that you get a fresh air vented version. Some of them use air from inside the house for combustion. You want one that uses air from outside the house for higher efficiency.

Answer 2

Hi,

I plan to put a wood stove in my home. I hate pellet stoves. The pellets are expensive and the inserts are just ugly and destroy the look of a nice fireplace. Get a nice wood stove with a glass front and set it into the fireplace (much nicer looking than an insert). Then make sure you get a good blower and you can keep your home as warm as the jungles of Africa in the winter. I prefer the natural smell of burning hardwoods, and a hot toddy on a snowy winter night. It is just much more pleasant. I have a cord of wood currently and it was $150/vs the cost of pellets which do take less work, and are more efficient. I think that is really something for a basement however, not for a living room.

Answer 3

Gas is a lot cleaner, and with properly installed and maintained equipment, generally safer. There are risks however. Outside air is a good idea for combustion air, as is a vent to the outside for exhaust gasses. A leak, however, that goes unnoticed could also be a source for a nasty explosion. There is also the cost to buy the gas. Wood, if you are willing to do the work can be obtained for free. The state Forestry service is a good place for getting free wood, as are "tree surgeons".
Wood stoves are going to be messy, and will require work to split the wood needed. If the wood stove is a catalytic type, then it will be a much cleaner stove, use less wood, will convert more of the gasses from the wood to heat, and produce less pollution in the air. Personally, I like wood heat. It feels better. If the chimney is kept clean, and you use dry hard wood, the problems with creosote build up are lessened.

Answer 4

We removed our wood burning stove and replaced it with a natural gas stove, and this is what we use to heat our entire home. A lot of areas are putting restrictions on fireplaces, so you can not burn during these restrictions. Our stove is 98% heat efficient, which you can not accomplish with wood. It is no maintenance basically, compared to all the work required for wood. Even pellet stoves have quite a bit of work to be done, and there are even restrictions on these in certain areas, and this winter some places ran out of the pellets even. The natural gas is very clean burning, and have no chance of having a chimney fire as with wood.

Answer 5

No it isn't true, they pollute quite a lot. Furthermore that smoke that does get into your living room or house from the fireplace? It is worse than smoking a cigarette!
It is a nice thing to have though. And yes it does give out warmth if handled properly. But it is no better than anything else nor any worse.
Look into a corn burning stove heater. Unusual but from what information I've gleaned about them; they are a cheap means of household heat and probably smell nice too.

Answer 6

Yes fireplaces are a good way of heating your home, but make sure it is gas because wood fires are messy and need a lot of cleaning. Wood stoves are very dirty too but are a good source of heat.

Answer 7

I dont have a wood burning fireplace inside and I do love fireplaces.I have a portable outside fireplace that we use to sit out and have weiner roasts, hot chocolate and wine and star gaze.I have a heat/cool pump to heat my house.It is one of the best investments I ever made. It could my electricity bill in half from the first use 20 years ago.

Answer 8

Wood is dirty! Ashes to carry out,wood to carry in, bark on the floor,ash dust everywhere.
BUT there is no heat better than wood! I have electric heat and a wood stove, we burn wood in the evenings because it feels so nice. I have about 10 ricks piled up so it's fairly cheap for me.

Answer 9

No, they are not. Wood fires, unless very carefully controled, are very dirty for the environment. Natuaral gas furnaces are much cleaner--in fact, most every thing else is much cleaner. Even corn fired furnaces are better.

Answer 10

have a pellet stove, very clean. easier than hauling and cutting wood.