WHY WOOD HEATING IS BECOMING THE MAIN FUEL IN AUSTRALIAN HOMES

Home heating is an essential to comfortable living, especially during the cold months of August in Sydney. As such, more people are investing in different types of heaters, including gas and wood. The market offers a variety of options when it comes to fireplaces in order to accommodate different people and their preferences. Hearth makers such as Lopi and Regency offer both wood and gas heaters, with the choices being between in built and standalone heaters.

Over time however, most homeowners are gravitating towards wood as the preferred source of fuel for their heaters. This has seen the installation of wood heaters go up over the past few years as people see the advantages of using firewood as opposed to other methods of heating. Here are some of the reasons why more households are taking up wood for their home heating:

Low Cost

People are always looking for bargains and ways to save money. As far as home heating goes, wood is more cost effective when compared to electricity and gas. This is especially true during winter, where the usage shoots up to compensate for temperature drops. Gas prices have also been on a slow yet steady rise over the past few years, to compensate for international market prices.

Larger households are more likely to be affected by the increased usage in terms of gas and electric heating. When using wood heating, the usage of both gas and electricity is offset; it has been said to be six times cheaper than using electricity and as much as 5 times cheaper than gas. This drastically lowers your energy costs in your home, since your require a little amount of wood to heat your home for quite some time. This is however dependent on the type of heater being used. Wood is also surprisingly low cost at purchase, especially when buying it in bulk. The fact that it can last over a long period of time when stored correctly also means you can use it whenever you need it until you exhaust your stock.

Better Heat Output

Wood provides a truly better quality of heat. It provides comfortable yet radiant warmth that permeates all around the home. This means that more areas in the house get the touch of warmth. It also makes wood excellent for larger households, since there is more ground to cover. Wood heaters also produce a pleasant warmth that is neither too harsh nor too low, making them better than most of the other heaters, including open fires. There is also the advantage that the stove continues to radiate warmth for quite some time even after the fire has gone out.

Wood Has Multiple Uses

Something people do not realise is that wood has more than one use. To begin with, wood is an excellent heat source for your home. Above and beyond that, it can be used for other household needs, such as cooking. If you like your coffee for example, you can have buy a percolator and make it in your wood stove. The same applies to beans and soup, only this time you are using a cast iron pot instead. Wood stoves have also been used for a long time for heating water. This not only prolongs the lifespan of your electrical appliances, but also saves you money on electricity costs.

It Is An Independent Source Of Energy

In as much as Sydney access to other energy sources such as electricity, gas and oil, there is a lot of freedom that comes with energy independence. This is especially important in the age where non-renewable sources of energy such as gas and oil are becoming more expensive. The price of electricity is also rising driven by household demand. Gas and electricity lines have been affected by this demand and are prone to constant outages and blackouts. This can be a great inconvenience during the winter days. Having a wood stove means that you do not have to worry about grid problems, since all you have to do is take some wood from storage and throw it in the heater.

Environmentally Friendly

Contrary to belief, wood is actually environmentally friendly. It has the lowest carbon footprint of all the other fuels, due to the fact that it is carbon neutral. Coupled with some of the new stove technologies in the market today, the emissions have been rated lowest by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s BASIX (Building Sustainability Index).

Using wood also leads to the establishment of firewood plantations. These are large investments where trees are planted to ensure sustainability of wood fuel. These firewood plantations also have the added ecological advantages such as the treatment of wastewater, reducing salination in the soil, controlling soil erosion, and creating a habitat for various wildlife.