Do Modern Woodburners Really Emit 450× More Pollution Than Gas?

The “450× more pollution” claim about woodburners makes a great headline—but is it accurate? Here’s the science behind the stat, and what it really means for modern Ecodesign stoves.

May 15, 2025
By Reece Toscani
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Stoves and the Environment

The 450× Claim

Every so often, a headline appears that makes your jaw drop. One of the most persistent in recent years is the claim that modern woodburners emit 450 times more pollution than gas heating. It’s a shocking number, and that’s exactly the point—it spreads quickly, stokes fear, and makes people feel guilty for using their stove. But big numbers without context are rarely the whole truth. So let’s ask directly: do modern woodburners really emit 450× more pollution than gas, or is the story more complicated?

Where Does the “450×” Figure Come From?

The statistic often quoted comes from environmental reports that measure particulate matter (PM₂.₅) from burning wood and compare it directly with carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from gas. PM₂.₅ refers to tiny airborne particles less than 2.5 micrometres in size. These can enter the lungs and, in high concentrations, contribute to poor air quality. CO₂, meanwhile, is a greenhouse gas that drives climate change but is not directly harmful to breathe at the levels we encounter daily.

So when you see the “450×” claim, what you’re actually looking at is a comparison between two completely different pollutants. Gas produces very little PM₂.₅ at the point of combustion but releases a large amount of CO₂ over its lifecycle. Wood produces particulates when burned, but the CO₂ it releases is part of a natural carbon cycle, provided the wood is sustainably sourced. The headline number skips over all this context.

Apples, Oranges, and Selective Measurements

Saying woodburners are “450× worse” than gas is a bit like saying a litre of orange juice has 450× more sugar than a raw potato. It might be true on a narrow metric, but the comparison is meaningless without context. Sugar and starch aren’t directly comparable, and neither are PM₂.₅ and CO₂.

A more useful approach would be to look at the whole environmental impact of each fuel source:

Gas heating: low PM₂.₅, but significant CO₂ emissions throughout extraction, processing, and burning.
Woodburners: higher PM₂.₅ if fuel or appliance are poor, but carbon-neutral when part of a managed forestry cycle.

When people ask “Do modern woodburners really emit 450× more pollution than gas?” the honest answer is that it depends on what you measure and how you measure it. Without context, the claim is misleading.

Context Matters: Fuel, Technology, and Usage

Not all wood burning is equal. Throwing wet logs on an open fire is a very different story to burning kiln-dried logs in a sealed Ecodesign stove. Research by the Stove Industry Alliance has shown that an open fire can produce up to ten times more particulate emissions than a modern stove. The 450× statistic rarely makes this distinction—it often lumps all “wood burning” together, from inefficient open fires to cutting-edge appliances.

Moisture content is another huge factor. Logs with a moisture content above 20% release more smoke and particulates because energy is wasted boiling off water instead of generating heat. This is why initiatives such as Ready to Burn certification now ensure consumers can buy wood that meets strict standards for dryness. In other words, the way you fuel and operate a stove can make a night-and-day difference to its emissions.

The Lifecycle View: More Than Just What Comes Out of the Chimney

Another blind spot in the “450×” claim is that it only looks at what happens during combustion. It ignores the environmental cost of getting the fuel into your home in the first place.

Gas has to be drilled, extracted, processed, and piped to millions of homes, with energy losses and infrastructure costs at every stage. It’s also a fossil fuel, meaning every unit burned adds to the stockpile of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Firewood, on the other hand, can often be sourced locally with a fraction of the transport footprint. When harvested from sustainable forests, new trees are planted to replace those cut down, locking away the same amount of carbon that will later be released when the logs are burned. This is why wood is considered a renewable and carbon-neutral energy source. It doesn’t mean emissions don’t exist—it means that over the lifecycle, the balance looks very different from fossil fuels.

Ecodesign: Cleaner Stoves, Stricter Standards

Since January 2022, all new stoves sold in the UK and across Europe must comply with Ecodesign regulations. These standards require appliances to meet strict limits on efficiency and emissions. Compared with older, non-compliant stoves, an Ecodesign model can:

Reduce particulate emissions by up to 90% compared to an open fire.

Extract far more heat from every log, reducing fuel use.

Reburn smoke through secondary and tertiary air systems, cutting visible smoke and PM₂.₅.

So when you hear someone ask “Do modern woodburners really emit 450× more pollution than gas?”, the answer has to acknowledge this new generation of appliances. The number is based on outdated comparisons, not today’s cleaner, regulated stoves.

Putting Risks Into Perspective

It’s also important to keep risk in perspective. PM₂.₅ is not only emitted by stoves. Everyday activities like cooking, using candles, or even cleaning with sprays can cause indoor air pollution spikes. In fact, studies have shown that frying food or lighting candles can release more particulates indoors than a properly used modern stove. That doesn’t mean stoves are risk-free—it means they’re one piece of a much larger puzzle around indoor and outdoor air quality.

Conclusion: More Nuance, Less Noise

So, do modern woodburners really emit 450× more pollution than gas? The short answer is no, not in the way most people interpret that claim. Stoves do emit particulates, but the figure comes from a selective, apples-to-oranges comparison that ignores lifecycle emissions, fuel quality, and technological improvements.

A more balanced picture shows that:

Gas: lower particulates but high CO₂ and fossil dependency.
Modern wood stoves: higher particulates than gas, but carbon-neutral and dramatically cleaner than old appliances or open fires.

The key takeaway? Headlines love big numbers, but the reality is more nuanced. If you burn the right fuel in a modern Ecodesign stove, you are heating your home in a way that is far cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable than scare statistics suggest.

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Reece Toscani

Reece has over two decades in the fireplace and stove world — testing, reviewing, and occasionally getting covered in soot, all in the name of wood-fired home heating. He cuts through the nonsense, busts the myths, and shares straight-talking advice to help you enjoy your stove without the confusion. From Fireplace Products to Redefining Woodburners, if it burns wood, he’s probably tested it, fixed it, or argued about it. Now, through Woodburner Insights, he shares that experience with the world — both here and on YouTube.