Renewable Energy for Your Home Can be Practical and Affordable

Renewable Energy for Your Home Can be Practical and Affordable

Many people would love to be able to stop using fossil fuel to power their homes and switch to alternative energy. But most are discouraged thinking its going to cost too much or that it is not practical. But there is an often overlooked form of biofuel that many homes use that is both economical and desirable.

The fuel I am talking about grows naturally, is very abundant in many areas, needs very little processing, and can be extracted in environmentally friendly ways. Often times in ways that actually enhance the environment.

This form of energy may not yet be able to directly power your lights, electronics and appliances, but it has been used for heating homes since prehistoric time. And many electric power plants are starting to use this fuel for generating electricity, so indirectly it may be used to power your electric devices.

What I am talking about is wood for home heating. When most people think about heating with wood they probably think of burning firewood logs in a fireplace or wood stove. For many homes this is still a desirable way to heat with wood. But for many homes, especially in urban areas, this is not so practical. For many of these homes, wood pellets are a practical alternative for heating with wood.

It may be hard for many people to think of burning wood as being environmentally friendly. After all, wood fires can produce a considerable amount of smoke, and in order to get wood, trees have to be cut down.

Smoke from burning firewood logs can be a problem. But modern stoves and fireplaces have come a long way in reducing these emissions. But for many areas where air pollution is a problem, this form of heating may is not always appropriate. This is where wood pellets have a great advantage. Pellets are very clean burning and more energy efficient to burn than firewood. A pellet stove is also easier to install than a wood stove and can be practical in homes where a wood stove would not.

You may be wondering how cutting down trees can be environmentally friendly. In most cases wood for heating comes form waste material from the forest products industry. In most cases the trees are being cut anyway and this waste material would go to waste if it was not used for heating.

Heating wood is also created from forest management and enhancement operations. Thinning overstocked forests can greatly improve forest health. Removing excess trees from overstocked forests helps the remaining trees to grow faster, makes them more disease resistant, and more resistant to wildfire. It also enhances wildlife habitat.

Many of the smaller and less vigorous trees that are removed are not suitable as timber products. So they are usually burned on the site or left on the ground to decay. If more people started burning wood or wood pellets, this material could be utilized as a source of energy instead of just going to waste.

Before you decide that alternative energy is impractical for your home, you might want to consider wood or pellet heat as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Learn how to measure a cord of wood.

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