Huebner, Gesche;
Brown, Donal;
(2024)
Relight my fire or scatter the ashes? The economic and health costs of woodburning stoves.
In:
ECEEE Summer Study Proceedings 2024.
ECEEE
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Abstract
Recent winters have seen a huge increase in energy prices, prompting a renewed interest in woodburning stoves as an alternative and presumably cheaper form of heating. However, domestic combustion – including wood burning – is the biggest source of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in cities like London. Wood is classified as a renewable energy source; however, this is only appropriate with strict forest management techniques. Here, we report the results of a study done together with the environmental charity “Global Action Plan” and the not-for-profit organization “Impact on Urban Health”. We undertook energy simulation modelling of a typical 3-bedroom London mid-terraced house. We assumed two occupancy scenarios, a higher occupancy scenario based on a family of four, and a lower occupancy scenario based on a retired couple with no children at home. We modelled five different heating system options: (A) Existing gas boiler providing 100 % of heat. (B) Newly installed Defra-compliant woodburning stove led heating (80 %) with gas secondary heating (20 %). (C) Existing gas boiler (80 %) with newly installed Defra-compliant wood burner secondary heating (20 %). (D) Existing gas boiler (80 %) with existing wood burner secondary heating (20 %). (E) Newly installed Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) providing 100 % of heat. Analysis showed that gas boilers and heat pumps are cheaper options for home heating than the wood burner options in either scenario. Only for those who can largely source their own wood for free, woodturners might become cost competitive. The public health costs of wood burning are substantial, in the long-term contributing to chronic health conditions, e.g., cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases, and in short-term to acute health outcomes, such as exacerbation of asthma. Hence, we argue that burners are not a cost-effective, healthy or sustainable alternative to other forms of heating, notably heat pumps, and should not play a critical role in the transition to net-zero.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | Relight my fire or scatter the ashes? The economic and health costs of woodburning stoves |
| Event: | ECEEE Summer Study 2024 |
| ISBN: | 1653-7025 |
| ISBN-13: | 978-91-988270-2-6 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://www.eceee.org/library/conference_proceedin... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Biomass, homes, cost benefit, air pollutants, health, domestic policies and measures, woodburner |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10199673 |
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