The days here in The Netherlands are getting colder. The other day I was biking past a house, and I could tell their fireplace was lit. It’s a certain smell and a certain feeling on the lungs. In the Netherlands most people have a pretty good heating system. Most of them are still running on gas, but we’re slowly transitioning to electricity. We have good heating, so a fireplace is not needed for heating. It’s usually pure ambiance. Today I want to tell you about a sustainable alternative to fireplaces: switching to an electrical fireplace.
Electric fireplace
The alternatives to fireplaces where people burn wood are already well available in Europe. The best alternative to a conventional fireplace is an electric fireplace. A quick search on the internet tells me that these can be bought (new) from about 50 euros onwards. I’d say that is affordable for most people in The Netherlands. An electric fireplace runs on electricity, like the name says. And therefore it can be a sustainable alternative, since electricity can be generated in a sustainable and renewable way. Wind mills, solar panels, thermal energy, etc. So, an electrical fireplace can be a sustainable alternative to a fireplace based on wood, as long as it uses renewable energy.
If you’re worried about an electric fireplace not giving the same look and feel, then I think you shouldn’t be worried to much. Like I said, I did an internet search on electrical fireplaces and the results are stunning. I’ve included a picture below to show you one I personally really like. And remember: electric fireplaces can give off heat too.
Reason 1: climate change
In my opinion there are two very important reasons for switching to an electric fireplace. If you have a fireplace at least, because it’s not something you need. It’s a luxury item. The first reason I want to list here is climate change. A conventional fireplace which runs on wood, burns wood. Whenever you burn something, emissions are released. When you burn wood, it releases CO2 (and other things, but I’ll get to that later). It’s hard to say which share of global emissions come from fireplaces, but 17,5% come from energy use inside of buildings. And one thing is clear: we’re in the middle of a climate crisis and have to work hard to minimize the emissions we currently have.
Therefore, I think it’s unethical to lit a conventional fireplace. It’s more efficient to just use your regulare heating system on gas. And even better: if you have the resources, it’s best to switch to a heat pump on renewable electricity.
Reason 2: particulate matter
The second reason for switching to a an electrical fireplace is the particulate matter. I’ve said this before, when I wrote about why I don’t lit candles. Particulate matter is extremely bad for everyone’s health. Particulate matter is released when you lit a fireplace. It’s bad for yourself, who lives inside the house, since not all particulate matter is transported through the chimney to outdoors. You breath it in immediately. But this particulate matter is bad for everyone. Let’s say 100% of the particulate matter from the fireplace travels through the chimney to outdoors (which it doesn’t). But if it were true, it still isn’t a solution because there it harms all of us.
So one person ‘benefits’ from the fireplace, but we all breathe in the polluted air. I think that’s socially unacceptable. The latest numbers from 2021 show that in Europe, almost 400,000 people die from outdoor particulate matter each year. 400,000!
Particulate matter in The Netherlands
And here I want to state again that fireplaces are not the only sources of particulate matter. It’s also caused by a lot of other things, like cars that run on fossil fuels, to name one thing. It’s hard to find out how big the share of particulate matter from fireplaces in the whole is, globally. But for the Netherlands we do know some things. For one specific form of particulate matter which is very small and therefore extremely harmful to the lungs, we know that almost 25% is caused by indoor fireplaces in The Netherlands.
And remember that a fireplace in The Netherlands is a luxury. Some people need a car to get to their job, they have little choice. But a fireplace is a luxury item. We simple don’t need it. Why harm our health and that of those around us for something that is not essential? And especially when there is a good alternative.
All sorts of other harmful substances
The reasons I listed above are about two sorts of substances: CO2 and particulate matter. But most fireplaces release many more harmful substances. Substances that are proven to higher the risk of cancer (like PAH’s) and other substances that are bad for the lungs (like carbon monoxide). Therefore, people who have a conventional fireplace, should think about switching to an electrical fireplace.
Do you have an electrical fireplace?
Yours sincerely,
Romee