Would you say wood heat is GREEN?

[DJ4wd]

Well, friends Im faced with a big project that will affect this technical writing class the rest of the quarter so Im in need of info,and advice. I need to come up with a green technology/business that Im personally interested in,and of course this site was the first thing in mind.
The business needs to be beneficial to this region (rural Ohio),and it cant be a chain store [e.g. Subway,McDonald,Home Depot, etc no nightclubs,daycare,and no automobiles]. I thought of the home owners who pay large gas and electric bills during the winter and how I use wood to cut that bill down to $75 a year.
My thoughts
1. Take mostly down trees, or ones from Tree companys

2. The cost of gas to deliver and even cut is a worth while trade off.

3. Anyone hear or read of someone complaining about the wood smoke messing up the O-zone?

I need to have my proposal written by next tues,so any thought about this or another Idea would be great , Thanks

 

[Marc]

So you're talking about a firewood business?

When done right, wood heat can be very environmentally friendly. I've not ever read that woodsmoke from correctly operated EPA compliant appliances produce chemicals with a high ODF (ozone depletion factor).

On the other hand, firewood salesmen can't really control how their product is used or misused once it leaves their hands, so calling it categorically "green" or environmentally friendly might be difficult to do.

 

[Streblerm]

I don't know if it is true or not, but the amount of greenhouse gasses released when burning wood is supposed to be the same as the amount of greenhouse gasses released from the wood decomposing. It just happens a little faster. Therefore burning biomass is a green practice.

The other complaint about wood burning is particulate emissions which affect us at ground level. This problem is addressed by using modern, epa stoves and/or burning responsibly (dry seasoned wood)

My thought is, a business that recovered (free) wood that would otherwise be put into a tub grinder or just left to rot, processes, and sells it, could be beneficial to the environment and to the population, especially those using propane, oil, and electric heat in rural areas.

Of course, making a profit selling firewood can be tough as there is much labor involved. Hey, its a proposal, not a real business, right?

 

[DJ4wd]

Right, Im not starting a business,Im just creating one for my class that needs to be reasonably/interesting. In this quarter long project I will be working to write technical papers and that sort of thing. This one is a proposal to a graduate of our university for funding in a green technology based business.

 

[Motodeficient]

Check out www.woodheat.org

Lots of good info there, I spend quite a bit of time reading there today.

 

[Bcat22]

I don't know if it is true or not, but the amount of greenhouse gasses released when burning wood is supposed to be the same as the amount of greenhouse gasses released from the wood decomposing. It just happens a little faster. Therefore burning biomass is a green practice.

The other complaint about wood burning is particulate emissions which affect us at ground level. This problem is addressed by using modern, epa stoves and/or burning responsibly (dry seasoned wood)

My thought is, a business that recovered (free) wood that would otherwise be put into a tub grinder or just left to rot, processes, and sells it, could be beneficial to the environment and to the population, especially those using propane, oil, and electric heat in rural areas.

Of course, making a profit selling firewood can be tough as there is much labor involved. Hey, its a proposal, not a real business, right?

in fact, decomposing wood releases very little carbon dioxide, mostly from the organizms that break it down. what it does release a lot of is methane. i don't remember the exact figure, but methane is supposed to be exponentially more potent as a green house gas.

so for all practical purposes, burning wood is much more green than letting it rot in the woods. the carbon that is released into the atmosphere is all carbon that has been CAPTURED by the tree FROM the atmosphere.

 

[Alan Smith]

green

the dollar is green so when you look at the saving on heat bill yes

 

[dingeryote]

Make sure to point out that folks are gonna heat thier homes with other means that are less "Green" if not for wood heat.
Go for "Total footprint".

Electricity is essentially Natural Gas or Coal burning somewhere else.

Nat Gas and coal have "Baggage" just getting it to the power plant.

LP is even worse as it has to be transported and is a petro product.

Solar requires all sorts of mining and smelting of materials that go into those chineese made Panels that have to be shipped.

Wind means all sorts of industrial energy use to make turbines and of course batterys that are filthy to manufacture, and then dispose of.

Then toss in the "Already there" aspect of recovered energy from what would otherwise use energy to dispose of.

Good on ya for tackling the assignment head on!!

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[Wood Doctor]

Look at it this way. About 96% of all the heat generated by wood burning occurs during forest and wild brush fires. Humans trying to heat homes and cook food account for 2% at most. The rest is industry and that is not very much either.

 

[dingeryote]

Look at it this way. About 96% of all the heat generated by wood burning occurs during forest and wild brush fires. Humans trying to heat homes and cook food account for 2% at most. The rest is industry and that is not very much either.

"Just moving a small part of an unavoidable forrest fire into my stove".

I like it!!


Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[wendell]

I think it is a great idea. Since you are helping people not use electricity or natural gas you are definitely helping people be more "green". Since it is just a project, make sure you season the wood fully before you sell it so you are helping your customers be more efficient.

 

[NorthernOntario]

If you really want a 'green' type company for a business case, look at the benefit from solar air/water heating.

Benefit to the local region - starting a small manufacturing plant brings jobs
Benefit to the environment - uses energy from the sun to heat air or water... space heating, domestic hot water, building water heating. Energy that would otherwise be wasted.

I'm not talking solar electric... that requires a lot of extra "stuff"... batteries, inverters, heavy cables, etc. I'm talking solar air heaters (some even use passive solar heating... no electricity used to move the air), and solar water heaters (small pump moves the water through the panels, captures heat, stores it in a large tank of water).

If you were going to do a firewood business, you need to focus on a potential business model that uses wood captured from tree services (you take the wood instead of dumping it in a landfill), using the leftovers from mills, etc. Capture all the 'garbage' that no one else wants, but can be used to heat homes. Explore possible models where people use wood heat for space heating and domestic hot water heating. The goal being to provide a service that saves people money.

Some people will always see burning wood as non-environmentally friendly. They will have their opinion, and it'll be impossible to change.

 

[blackdogon57]

Another firewood business would not be " beneficial" to any region. Burning biomass on a large scale to produce energy may be a better choice if you want to do a model related to forestry.

 

[diznila]

wood heat is definitely green

I definitely think wood is green energy, since the tree spends its lifetime absorbing carbon, which is then released when you burn it. I believe it's carbon neutral.

The other thing to think about is that wood is a sustainable resource. Leave a patch of field empty and it'll turn into woods pretty quickly. You can't say the same about oil/gas/petroleum products.

 

[dingeryote]

Just another thought for ya.

In some areas, the fuel load in forrests from snags and limbs, is the primary reason for so many wildland fires, and it's too expensive to pay to have it picked up.

Cleaning out the standing dead and downed wood for heating use in modern stoves REDUCES pollution from uncontrolled wild land fires, and saves huge $$$ for the state and Insurance companys.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[IndyIan]

How about a plan for a business that designs and installs masonary wood stoves? My buddy has one and its the best way to burn wood in a well insulated house IMO. Fire it up once a day or every couple days if its not cold and it keep their house warm easily.

 

[Marc]

How about a plan for a business that designs and installs masonary wood stoves? My buddy has one and its the best way to burn wood in a well insulated house IMO. Fire it up once a day or every couple days if its not cold and it keep their house warm easily.

The market for those is unfortunately limited. They lend themselves to new construction best because the house kinda needs to be designed around them with a stout foundation for them; plus I've seen total costs for them ranging from $10,000 to $30,000.

That said, I really, really want one.

 

[Lookin4lunkers]

I like the angle of using wood that otherwise would go to waste. I cringe every time I head north (meening Ontario's vast Boreal forest) and see all the wood along the road that Hyro has dropped and no one can pick it up, what a waste.

 

[DJ4wd]

Wow thats a ton of information and I really appreciate all of it. This is supposed to be something that I am really into and know a lot about,so it really limits what I can write about because hunting,fishing and beer isn't with in the perimeters lol.

Its down to my true hobby and another Idea I ran across that is truly green and very cool heres the link.

http://www.mindthecurb.com/

Specifically look at clean art. They use high power washers to blast dirt away and whats left is an incredibly detailed picture that last for weeks ,and doesn't require a permit to apply it to sidewalks or streets..pretty cool

 

[Marc]

Yeech. Cities really are dirty places.