How do you burn peat?

Peat burns pretty much the same as wood or coal and the general principles are the same: Start with a hot blaze of kindling and small pieces of wood, and place the dried fuel on top.

Does peat have to be dry to burn?

Peat has a high carbon content and can burn under low moisture conditions.

Is peat easy to burn?

Peat has traditionally been used for centuries for cooking and domestic heating. These 'coal-like' lumps of peat are easy and clean to handle, light easily and can also be burnt alongside other fuels on multi-fuel stoves and open fires.

How do peat bogs burn?

Instead of sending towering flames upward, a peat fire burns in the opposite direction, smoldering deep in the soil. Oftentimes, firefighters will soak the ground with water and declare victory, only for the soil to reignite a surface fire months later.

Is burning peat worse than coal?

But peat is particularly polluting. Burning it for electricity emits more carbon dioxide than coal, and nearly twice as much as natural gas.

Peat Briquettes Lighting and burning them

Is burning peat better than coal?

Peat produces a slow burn which can be beneficial on chilly evenings when you want to just warm the room up a little, rather than having a roaring flame. It can be combined with wood or coal if you require more heat. Peat fuel is cheaper than coal, and in some cases also less expensive than wood fuel.

Why is burning peat so bad?

Burning peatlands also releases carbon which is bad news for climate change. It's not just burning that causes this – if peatland dries out, the peat begins to break down and old carbon is released. This is actually more damaging to the climate than the clouds of smoke (which are bad for air quality).

Is burning peat better than wood?

Peat has low atmospheric emissions when burnt compared to many fuels and it is clean and easy to handle. From as little as 20p per kg it is also one of the cheapest fuel products on the market today when compared with coal, soft and hardwood logs.

Is burning peat toxic?

The fine particles released from peat fires pose the greatest risk to your health. When these particles get into your eyes and lungs, symptoms of irritation such as coughing, wheezing and sore eyes are commonly experienced. As smoke levels decrease these symptoms will become less pronounced and eventually cease.

How long can peat burn for?

Because of this vast accumulation of fuel, once ignited, smoldering-peat fires may burn for months or even for years, despite extensive rain, weather changes, or fire-fighting attempts.

Does burning peat smell?

Burning peat sometimes smells delicious, like smoky bacon. The treacherous smoke does not sting your eyes at all, while the carbon monoxide and methane released into the air are killing you, slowly and surely.

Does peat burn hotter than wood?

The burning characteristics of wood and peat are very similar and a stove designed for one will just as easily burn the other. Peat produces much more ash than wood though so that the stove needs to be de-ashed more often.

Does burning peat release CO2?

The degradation of peatlands through drainage and burning, plus the fires themselves, produce significant CO2 emissions every year. The IPCC estimates tropical peatland cultivation generates the equivalent of 440 million tonnes of CO2 per year, with peat fires generating on average a further 200 million tonnes.

Do they still burn peat in Ireland?

One in seven Irish households still burn peat for heat. New rules are aimed at discouraging a practice that many consider part of the culture.

How long to dry peat for burning?

The soft peat is cut into slices and laid across the moor using a tool is called a “tairsgear”. This has a long wooden handle with an angled blade on the end, a foot or so in length that both cuts and turns the peat. The peat are then left to dry out for up to 2 weeks.

Is burning peat banned UK?

The ban on burning on blanket bog with deep peat – more than 40cm – in specially protected areas of England without a licence was brought in to protect what the Government described as the country's national rainforest and help tackle climate change and nature loss.

Do people still burn peat in Scotland?

In modern times, the cut peat is used to heat homes during the Winter; in many rural houses there is no gas or electric heating, and often no central heating either. Like us, though, many traditional crofts have moved away from peat and onto other sources of fuel, like wood or coal.

Why do the Irish burn peat?

' Peat has been an invaluable source of heat and energy throughout history in Ireland. It was found to be a useful alternative to firewood for cooking and heating throughout Ireland and other parts of the European continent.

What is an alternative to burning peat?

Lignite Briquettes are suitable for use in open fires and multi fuel stoves. A more sustainable alternative to a peat briquette, burning in a very similar way.

How long does it take for peat to turn into coal?

At that rate, it would take about 12,000-60,000 years to accumulate enough peat to form a three-metre coal seam. The transformation from peat to coal takes even longer.

Why are peat fires so difficult to put out?

Once found, one problem to putting out peat fires is that peat soil repels water when it gets very dry, says Watts. Think of how water pools on top of the soil in a potted plant that has been neglected for too long. Water has to be able to break through the soil's surface to get to the underground fires.

Is peat dirtier than coal?

But peat, or turf, is one of the most polluting fuels in the world. It is more polluting, even, than coal, generating less energy when burned while producing more emissions.

Why is peat being banned?

Its extraction for human use dries the peat causing the area to degrade and also increases the risk of wildfires. These two factors allow for increasing amounts of carbon dioxide to be released into the atmosphere, making them one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases.

Why is peat bad for environment?

Peat releases huge amounts of stored carbon dioxide when it is harvested, which adds to greenhouse gas levels. Peat mining is effectively unsustainable – it grows back at just 1 mm a year.

Does burning peat release methane?

Its destruction releases vast amounts of carbon, particularly methane, into the atmosphere. Burning, draining, and degrading peat bogs emits significant amounts of CO2 .