Charcoal is the traditional fuel for barbecues because it produces a hot
, long-lasting fire that is virtually smokeless. The fundamentals of charcoal manufacture is the burning of wood in a low-oxygen atmosphere, a process that drives out the moisture and volatile gases present in the original fuel. The elimination of the moisture reduces the weight of the fuel by up to 70% and the resulting charred material also burns for much longer than the original piece of wood.
Charcoal has been manufactured since pre-historic times and we know this following the discovery of an ancient body in a melting glacier in the Tyrolean Alps. Scientists dated the remains of the man back approximately 5,000 years and they also found that he had been carrying a small box of charred wood wrapped in leaves. The scientists deduced that the charred wood was probably smoldering and what the man would use to start a fire because apart from this box, he was not carrying any other fire starting materials such as a flint.
Even 6,000 years ago, charcoal was the preferred fuel for smelting copper and this continued to be the case for iron as well even as late as the 17th century when charcoal was superseded by coke. Charcoal also remained popular in many other industries much later primarily because of the abundance of forests in many areas and the process of coppicing made it a sustainable resource. Something that we should consider in this age of global warming - many environmentalists see wood and charcoal as carbon neutral because of the ability of trees to grow and absorb the greenhouse gasses. Charcoal has been used for domestic heating and maybe you should start to use it more in chimneys rather than the gas powered patio heater?
Whenever you are cooking on charcoal you will always feel safe in the knowledge that a traditional industry is propagating. It has far better advantages than the gas powered heaters.