Petersen, L.K. & Martinsen, L. 2008: Brændefyring i hjemmet - praksis, holdninger og regulering. Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser, AU 51 s. - Faglig rapport fra DMU nr. 668.

 

Summary

Use of wood burning stoves for domestic heating is the subject of this report which is based on results from an interview study and a survey. The report is concerned with why people have and use stoves, how they use them and which functions the stoves serve in their homes. Of equal interest are the attitudes of users as well as non-users to environmental consequences of wood combustion and to different forms of regulation.

 

There can be several reasons for having and using a wood burning stove for domestic heating. The main reason seems to be the sense of homeliness and cosiness and calm that it gives to the home, and the second most important reason is the economic advantages it implies in terms of reducing heating expenses. Enjoyment of the particular quality of warmth that stoves can provide and a desire to obtain higher indoor temperature are important additional motivations, while self determination in household heating supply runs through all these motivations as an underlying incentive.

 

Potential environmental problems from domestic wood combustion depend on the properties of the stove, on the quality of the fuel, and on air intake and other aspects of the combustion process; and practices of stove users play an important role in all this. For stove users there are both sensuous experiences and social norms – e.g. regarding use of damp wood or any other type of fuel than pure wood – that support an environmentally appropriate practice. However, this study shows that even though users are inclined to follow environmentally sound practices for wood combustion other considerations in everyday life may be more important; considerations regarding what kind of effort one has time and energy for, what is practically feasible, what one can be bothered to consider, and what level of thermal comfort one wants.

 

Almost half of the respondents, users and non-users alike, are to some extend – from slightly to extremely – bothered by smoke from wood combustion, and around 25 % are more than slightly bothered. At the same time there is approval from 62 % of the respondents to some sort of effort to reduce pollution from wood combustion. Education and advice regarding best practice for wood combustion seems, however, to be the only type of regulation that is met with approval by users and non-users alike.

 

Full repport in pdf-format (591 kB)