Log fire

Chickereeeee

Let's not minimise the pollution aspect eh? Oh, and 'cant see the smoke' doesn't mean .there isn't any pollution or smell!
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/15/wood-burners-emit-more-particle-pollution-than-traffic-uk-data-shows

Chickereeeee

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/wood-burning-stoves/article/wood-burning-stoves-what-you-need-to-know/stoves-and-pollution-aIPXC8g7lbu5#are-woodburning-stoves-bad-for-the-environment

Grenage

Chickereeeee said:

Let's not minimise the pollution aspect eh? Oh, and 'cant see the smoke' doesn't mean .there isn't any pollution or smell!
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/15/wood-burners-emit-more-particle-pollution-than-traffic-uk-data-shows

Oh you're not wrong, burning anything is bad for health and the environment.

That said, the other half and I have made the biggest contribution one can to climate change, we've opted to have no children.  That buys us significant leeway in my mind.

Woolsery

Chickereeeee said:

Let's not minimise the pollution aspect eh? Oh, and 'cant see the smoke' doesn't mean .there isn't any pollution or smell!
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/15/wood-burners-emit-more-particle-pollution-than-traffic-uk-data-shows

I wouldn't wish to minimise genuine pollution data, but context is everything and we're not being given any by the OP. If they live in town with gas available, no natural sources of wood nearby and little storage space, the installation of a wood burning stove would be a nonsense. Out in the sticks where I am, it makes sense, especially as we grow and harvest wood on our land and exchange certain services for goods, including wood fuel.

I think the government didn't spot the fad for wood burners in time, so now it's trying to legislate after thousands of extra ones have been installed. As they're a fad for many, it's hard to know whether they'll continue to be used or die a death now energy costs are going ballistic and every Btu counts.

Mojisola

One of the additional reasons we installed one when we were doing renovations was to provide a heating source if the power was out - we can also cook on it if it became necessary.  We've done baked potatoes and slow-cooked stews to test it out.

We use it much more than we expected to because the heat is different and the house feels much nicer on a cold grey wintery day.

Chickereeeee

Thanks for the polite responses!

Agrees that there are some locations where they may make sense: probably the same sort of places where it also makes sense to own a shotgun. But for 98% of people, environmentally,  it doesn't.

I live in an urban area (albeit by the sea) and it seems to be de rigueur to install a wood burner as part of any refurbishment, of which there are a huge number going on.

Wes121708

We've got a bio stove. Less mess and don't need to worry about a flue as it can be placed anywhere!

https://www.stoveworlduk.co.uk/hampton-5-bio-stove

flowercandle

lots of helpful comments, but just a little one to to add: I lived in a house with a coal stove that was the only heat source (it heated up the radiators and a huge hot water cylinder) and it was lovely, but if you get ill and are alone there is no one else to clean it out and start the fire again then you can seriously end up really cold. Same if you run out of wood/coal which with all the recent panic buying/hoarding could happen in a very cold winter so I would suggest that if you have a stove its not your only heat source like it was in that house. Only one final thing is coal and good wood tends to sprout legs and vanish without a trace unless its secured someway.

Nifty_Purse

I researched having one and decided the level of indoor air pollution is just unacceptable.

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/indoor-wood-stoves-release-harmful-emissions-our-homes-study-finds

Unfortunately, this research was published during 2020 and so didn't get the attention it should have. Most of the public are quite naive about the consequences of burning fuels in confined spaces/homes.
Ironically, NGOs in parts of Africa and Asia are busy convincing people to relocate their fires/stoves to the outside of their homes to try and reduce respiratory diseases. 

Grenage

Nifty_Purse said:

I researched having one and decided the level of indoor air pollution is just unacceptable.

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/indoor-wood-stoves-release-harmful-emissions-our-homes-study-finds

Unfortunately, this research was published during 2020 and so didn't get the attention it should have. Most of the public are quite naive about the consequences of burning fuels in confined spaces/homes.
Ironically, NGOs in parts of Africa and Asia are busy convincing people to relocate their fires/stoves to the outside of their homes to try and reduce respiratory diseases. 

I'm assuming that you also never fry food, use non-stick pans, have a campfire, or BBQ.  All of these have their problems and have been linked to health issues.  Then there are carpets, often an issue for respitory problems.

I'm not saying that emissions don't enter the house, but only when the stove is being reloaded.  If it's done at the right time, you're talking about next to nothing entering the room.  You probably breath in more particulates walking along a road to the local co-op.