Latest news with #woodburningstoves
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Researchers make game-changing discovery that could fix dangerous issue with common home heating feature: 'The health effects are well known'
Wood-burning stoves are still common across the U.S., especially in rural areas. They're cheap to run and easy to maintain. However, they also release fine particulate pollution that can be dangerous inside and outside the home. A group at Oregon State University may have found a fix. "Our goal is to make wood heating safer for families and better for the environment," said Nordica MacCarty, the lead researcher and an associate engineering professor at OSU, according to TechXplore. "A stove doesn't need to pollute this much to be effective." Her team discovered that most pollution happens during two key moments: when the fire is started and when more fuel is added. Those short bursts are responsible for around 70% of the total particulate emissions. The fine particles — PM2.5 — can travel deep into your lungs and even reach the bloodstream. "The health effects are well known," said MacCarty. "Long-term exposure to PM2.5 has been linked to heart disease, asthma, and even early death." The U.S. has roughly 10 million wood-burning stoves. About two-thirds of them fail to meet current Environmental Protection Agency standards. According to MacCarty, "A lot of the older stoves are essentially just metal boxes with chimneys. They were never built with emissions in mind." "Wood is an affordable, local, renewable, low-carbon fuel that should be an important part of the U.S. energy mix, but it must be burned cleanly to effectively protect health," MacCarty said. To reduce that pollution, the team developed a device that automatically injects air at precisely the right times. It isn't a filter or fan, but a smart system that adjusts airflow based on how the fire behaves. Lab and field tests showed it could reduce emissions by up to 95%. "We've known for years how to make combustion cleaner in a lab setting," she said. "What's new is getting those results in homes, during real use." The prototype also helps reduce creosote buildup, a flammable byproduct that sticks to chimney walls and causes house fires. By optimizing the fire's burn efficiency, the system also reduces that risk. Instead of relying on controlled lab tests, the OSU team installed its prototypes in homes throughout Oregon. It placed sensors in stoves and chimneys, collecting data over time. Do you worry about air pollution in and around your home? Yes — always Yes — often Yes — sometimes No — never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Cleaner-burning stoves aren't just good for individual households; they improve air quality for entire neighborhoods. As MacCarty pointed out, "If a few homes on one street are using outdated stoves, they can impact everyone around them." For homeowners looking to reduce heating costs, solar energy is a solid option with potential tax credits. One platform, EnergySage, helps people compare quotes from local installers. Many users end up saving thousands. Cleaner heat, safer homes, lower bills. The fixes are out there — you just have to know where to look. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
'Woke' council warned by watchdog over anti-wood-burning stove ad campaign that branded the heaters 'cosy killers'
A ' woke ' council has been warned by the advertising watchdog over claims wood-burning stoves are 'cosy killers' that produce deadly air pollution. Brighton & Hove City Council launched a campaign in December against the use of stoves and open fires amid statements that they create a particularly dangerous form of air pollution known as PM2.5s. 'Scaremongering' billboards stated the stoves produced more small-particle emissions than road traffic in the whole of the UK and were behind the deaths of 'one in 20 people over the age of 30'. But after receiving complaints, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) issued a warning to the council that such claims cannot be made if they are not 'backed up by adequate evidence.' Owners of wood-burning stoves said the clean air campaign led to 'a climate of fear and intimidation' in which they were named and shamed and verbally abused in the street. Chimney sweeps in Brighton and Hove also reported they had been asked to park away from the homes of their customers for fear of alerting neighbours to the presence of a wood-burning stove. Critics of the 'misleading' Cosy Killer campaign add that it forced many elderly people to go cold this winter. Brighton resident Molly, 68, said: 'I was so worried about using my wood burner. I felt I was being shamed by the council, so instead of lighting it I piled on my woollen clothes. 'As a result my house was really cold and I seemed to catch more winter bugs. I'm not happy with the council at all. 'It was misleading and unnecessarily woke and they created a 'them and us' scenario, pitting neighbour against neighbour.' Another elderly resident said: 'I rely on my wood burner in the winter because gas and electricity is just so expensive these days. 'We live in fuel poverty and yet you have the council being alarmist about the effects of using wood burners. 'We used it only sparingly as a result but we were cold all winter. It's a classic case of council scaremongering and it's not fair.' Despite the concerns raised by the Cosy Killer campaign, wood burners are legal to use in the UK and some 1.5million homes across the nation are estimated to have them installed. Andy Genovese, who runs Hove Wood Burners, said the ASA warning vindicated his belief the campaign fell foul of the watchdog's guidelines. He said: 'In conducting such a campaign they have harmed small local solid fuel businesses, domestic manufacturers and a genuinely innovative British success story. 'The council has wilfully misinterpreted scientific studies into air pollution and waged war on wood stoves. 'If they had read beyond the headlines of the studies they would have found candles, air fryers and toasters are far more problematic in terms of particulates in the home. 'The studies they cited show wood stoves sit well within the Government safety margins while a host of other household activities clearly do not.' He added: 'As regards air pollution outside the home, eco-design stoves account for less than five per cent of airborne particulates, less than cigarette smoke and considerably less than road traffic. 'It is hard to come to any conclusion other than the council are either very poorly advised or they had another agenda when this misconceived campaign was launched. It looks like a waste of taxpayers' money.' A spokesperson for the ASA confirmed it had received a complaint about the campaign. She said: 'We wrote to the advertiser with an Advice Notice, explaining that if consumers are likely to understand a claim as an objective one, then advertisers are required to hold adequate supporting evidence to substantiate said claim. 'We told Brighton and Hove city council that they shouldn't make objective claims in relation to the effects of wood burners and open fires if those claims can't be backed up by adequate evidence. 'We issue an Advice Notice where we consider there are potential problems under our advertising rules but do not consider the issues raised are so significant as to warrant a full formal investigation.' Councillor Tim Rowkins, cabinet member for Net Zero and Environmental Services at Brighton & Hove City Council, said: 'All the statements included in this campaign were substantiated with DEFRA or Public Health England references, based on research which is available in the public domain, and which have now been added to our website. 'Wood burning stoves and open fires are a risk to public health, particularly in cities. 'We have a duty as a local authority to make people aware of this and will continue to do so.' Particulate pollution is widely agreed to be the air pollutant with the biggest impact on human health, increasing the risk of respiratory and heart conditions, as well as hospital admissions. Children growing up exposed to particulate pollution are more likely to have reduced lung function and can develop asthma as the tiny particles penetrate the lungs and enter into the bloodstream.
