Wood burning kills 250 people a year – as sad as that may sound
If you are skeptical about the harms of wood burning – read this. At the end, you will learn how to burn wood more cleanly and save up to 40% of wood.
Wood burning is a sacred thing for Finns. It has been used to heat homes. It has been used to cook food. Nowadays, its atmosphere is enjoyed by drinking tea by the fireplace and heating the sauna. Unfortunately, wood burning produces dangerous fine particles in the air we breathe. And it produces more of them than anything else.
Wood contains 85-90% volatile substances. That is why most of the wood burns as gases. Combustion gases contain fine particles, soot, hydrocarbons, and other harmful combinations. The dirtier the combustion is, the less the combustion gases burn in the fireplace.
In old-fashioned fireplaces, the mixture between the air and combustion gases is not optimal. In addition, the combustion air is not preheated, but comes directly from the room air under the wood.
Why do we refuse to admit that wood burning produces fine particles?
Wood burning – if anything – feels like a natural way to heat. It may feel strange that an ancient tradition is actually polluting. Only recently have the problems it causes been paid attention to. Now, the impurities and harmful combustion products created during combustion can be measured precisely.
When gasoline or diesel burns in a car engine, and the exhaust pipe smokes, we know it is harmful to health. It is easy for Finns to accept that cars are constantly being made less polluting.
Instead, the harms of wood burning are not wanted to be admitted, as Yle news on 21.02.2019 reports:
“This emission sector is completely different in nature, because it concerns a close, downright national-romantic tradition for Finns,” states Associate Professor, Chief Physician Raimo O. Salonen from THL's environmental health unit.
Even worse, people's hair stands on end when talking about heating the sauna:
A wood sauna producing a lot of fine particle emissions is a strong part of Finnish culture. When talking about the sauna and fine particle emissions, many Finns' blood pressure rises, sauna researcher Laura Seesmeri estimates.
Is wood burning really a big problem in the midst of a global pandemic, wars, and famine?
It is completely understandable that in the midst of all other problems, the problems of wood burning may seem ridiculous. When factories in China and Poland produce a huge amount of smoke into the environment, the fine particles produced by your own fireplace burning may seem like an absurd problem.
Fortunately, there is an easy solution to the problem. Lumox EkoAir, developed by our company, reduces fine particles almost completely, saves up to 40% of wood, and helps fireplaces and chimneys last longer.