This system keeps us sort of warm with jumpers vests blankets 2 pair socks and hot water bottles in the winter, provides 3 showers a day and water for washing up and all cooking from scratch including bread, jams etc.

Wood supply is difficult as the flu can get damaged by wet tarry wood, we collect some of ours from where it is unwanted and buy rest from sustainable cartel.

We had to build a second v large shed from recycled timber to store the wood in,we have to carry wood around every day which helps keep us warm and fit.

THis works for us, but we have room and live in the country I don’t think it could possibly be the solution for everyone.

There will be many solutions the important thing is to accept that it will take time, faith and dedication to find them.

All we need is for everyone to work towards doing something better than what they are doing today.

As far as the population goes I really feel that we have to work towards population targets which take into account what the country can reasonably sustain in an eco friendly way. Anything else is madness and ignores the right of the other creatures with which we share this planet.

http://www.ieabioenergy-task38.org/projects/task38casestudies/uk-brochure.pdf http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VH3-4HVF13B-2&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=84f4a8c307469cd5deb566c600bd76de .

See these links for the conditions in which high CH4 and N2O are seen in biomass combustion:

http://www.ghgonline.org/methanebioburn.htm and http://www.ghgonline.org/nitrousbioburn.htm .

Also essential to distinguish between old fashioned log stoves and modern wood burning boilers. I find it hard to believe that methane can get through a modern boiler unscathed – this is methane, CH4, natural gas!

Also be clear on the various oxides of nitrogen. NO2 – nitrogen dioxide – NOT a greenhouse gas but a contributor to smog. N2O – nitrous oxide – the potent greenhouse gas. So which is it?

x steve

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7219565.stm

I’ve lost track of the amount of homes I’ve been into where the owners complain about their heating bills, yet haven’t bothered to insulate or get double-glazing!

I’d be interested to read an article and discussions on population.
Not that I don’t like people – there are just too many of us.

x steve

Mind you we’re talking about a 15 square metre cob cabin (i.e. very good thermal mass), in Northern Spain. Our climate is pretty similar to Devon’s, only about 3 degrees warmer… i.e. roughly what Devonians can be looking forward to in a few decades. By the way, climate change doesn’t seem to have been included in the analyses of heating costs in Britain – another reason why the estimates of wood required for heating seem to be overly pessimistic.

We recently changed from an open fire to a closed steel stove, mainly for indoor air quality reasons. But we were unable to find a reasonably priced high-efficiency stove (one that burns the wood at a high temperature to minimise smoke).

By the way we’ve just been experimenting with “outsulating” (insulating on the outside) the north wall of the cabin using a straw-clay slip mix. Have to see what (if any discernable) difference this makes to the cabin’s comfort levels this coming winter…

I lived in a two-room straw cabin, approximately 750 sq. feet. Bales were stacked “Nebraska style” and walls were 18-20 inches thick. The roof was insulated with bedded straw between the ceiling rafters. Windows were single pane and doors were not weatherstripped.

My woodstove was a Vermont Castings Intrepid-II, which has a catalytic converter.

White oak and red oak has a heating value of 26.4 – 28.0 btu/cord. A green cord is 4890 – 6290 pounds, with 30-40% weight loss during drying.

I am at 35.4° N 87.3° W but because of our altitude, we experience severe weather during winter months. Our first frost is mid-October and our last frost is typically at the end of May. Most of the days between those dates could require some use of the woodstove. Maximum cold temperature during that period was -23F (-32C). We get 8 to 20 inches of snow, usually.

Because we have 200+ sunny days per year, an attached greenhouse is essential, although I confess, my cabin is deep in the forest and I did not add a sun room until this year.

In conclusion, I would say that design of the living space is as important as any other factor. There are a good many designs these days for zero-energy buildings, and when one combines zero-energy goals with natural building techniques, the best of all results occur: warm interior space with minimal maintenance, energy use and impact.

One other note I have on the post: when calculating net sequestration one must consider the tree’s roots.

I defend my choice of wood heat as appropriate for where I live (inside a large forest which is well-zoned and caretaked), but agree that it is entirely inappropriate for many locations.

Thanks for the excellent contribution.