Fuel; Wood; Co Neutrality; Basic Requirements For Installing An Open Fireplace - Spartherm Magic Operating Manual

3. FUEL

3.1 WOOD

3.1.1 CO NEUTRALIT Y
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The „Wald in Not" (Forest in Peril) Foundation formulates this aptly in an
informative brochure as follows:
„Wood has no debts to nature. Wood is stored solar energy. Sunlight, water
and carbon dioxide are the building blocks that make wood. During the
lifetime of the tree, sunlight is chemically captured. Sun is turned into lignin
and cellulose. When the wood is burned, that energy is released again.
Wood only emits as much carbon dioxide as it had previously gained from
the air and incorporated when it was a living tree. It is immaterial whether
the wood burns or rots in the forest – the carbon dioxide output always
remains constant.
New trees absorb the carbon dioxide that the wood emits when burned, and
a closed natural carbon cycle is the result.
Conclusion: With wood burning, nature remains in balance.
German law regulates the sustainable management of forests. This obli-
gation leads to an increase in timber volumes, since the average increase
in timber is 40% greater than the amount of firewood and timber that is
consumed. Therefore, it is economically and environmentally sensible to
burn wood in this form.
3.1.2 BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR INSTALLING AN
OPEN FIREPLACE
All types of wood contain about the same amount of thermal energy per kg
of net wood mass. Each type of wood has a different volume at the same
weight, though, because the cells from which the timber is constructed have
different sizes and densities. In technical values, this fact is displayed in the
form of gross density. As such, the wood does not contain any water and is
weighed per 1 m of wood.
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For starting a fire, woods with a low density are more suitable, since they
can burn easily, while high-density wood is better for periodic burning.
Hardness of wood Type of wood*
Poplar
Spruce
Soft wood
Fir
Pine
Beech
Hardwood Ash
Oak
* All other native woods can also be used, but they are not yet available
commercially or in large quantities.
Since fireplace inserts have different requirements for operation (the feed
rate, the task interval, etc.) depending upon the design of the fireplace/plas-
tered stove (e.g. as a fireplace, standard furnace, hot air oven, hypocaust,
etc.), ask the installer for advice, prior to commissioning, regarding the
proper operation of the fireplace insert.
GB 5
Gross density in kg/m³
370
380
380
430
580
580
630
GB