Last updated: 10.12.2023, 07:05 a.m.
By: Robin Dittrich
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Wood-burning stoves are still very popular throughout Germany. However, there are a few things to consider when buying and heating.
Bremen – Wood-burning stoves are extremely popular, especially on cold winter days. They keep the house or apartment cosy and warm and only need a little wood. But are they really as cheap and, above all, climate-friendly as some people think?
These are the advantages of wood-burning stoves – is heating really cheaper?
First of all, it is important to know what different types of wood-burning stoves are available. Often they stand in the living room and release their heat into the one room. However, some water-bearing stoves can also distribute heat throughout the house. Regardless of whether people live in a house or an apartment, wood-burning stoves are suitable. However, the prices for the wood-burning stoves themselves vary greatly.
If you want to heat your own home in icy temperatures, you could think of a wood-burning stove – it has advantages and disadvantages. © MiS/Imago
As the HKI writes, the cost of pellet stoves starts at just under 1000 euros, wood-burning stoves cost at least 800 euros. However, there are few upper limits to the price, special designs can cost well over 5000 euros. Above all, greater climate friendliness has an impact on acquisition costs. A big advantage of wood-burning stoves is that "wood is cheaper than oil," ntv quotes Thomas Schnabel, consultant for politics and economics at HKI. In addition, it is easy to store and procure quickly – wood is described by the HKI as a "crisis-proof fuel".
High pollutant emissions possible: wood-burning stoves have some disadvantages
Another great advantage is the low environmental impact of wood-burning stoves. With proper heating with wood, this can be almost climate-neutral – but there are a few things that need to be taken into account. After all, if you heat incorrectly, you cause high pollutant emissions. If the wood of a wood-burning stove does not burn completely, toxic carbon monoxide and climate-damaging methane are released, writes the consumer advice center. You can see this when the combustion chamber turns black due to increased soot formation. The ashes from the wood-burning stove should also not be scattered in the garden.
Fine dust particles, which can be released into the air and lead to inflammation of the throat and inflammation of the mucous membranes, are particularly problematic. Above all, it is important that the fire is lit correctly and that wood is replenished at the best time – this is the case when the yellow flames are about to go out. In order to heat with even lower emissions, the consumer advice centre recommends using dry firewood and quickly reaching high temperatures when heating.
Compared to heating oil and gas, wood-burning stoves are characterized above all by their price. While pellets cost just under seven cents per kWh, gas is almost 10 cents and heating oil even almost 11 cents, according to the German Pellet Institute. As feuerdepot.de writes, an average household consumes around 3000 liters of heating oil, 2632 m³ of natural gas or 15 cubic meters of beech wood per year to achieve the same heating capacity. The cost of crude oil is over 3000 euros per year, with natural gas even almost 4000 euros. Wood, on the other hand, is the much cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative at 1500 euros. (rd
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