For some of us, wood is the only practical, affordable fuel | Letters

Readers respond to George Monbiot's article on wood-burning stoves and the damage they do to the environment and health

I read with some dismay that I have committed the eco-crime of owning a wood-burning stove (My burning shame: I fitted my house with three wood-burning stoves, 27 December). When I moved into my small cob-and-thatch cottage 10 years ago, there were storage heaters (which I removed) and an open fire that filled the place with smoke due to a jackdaw nest in the chimney. I installed an air-source heat pump, and a small wood-burning stove for extra warmth in winter.

This is affordable, as the heat pump is cheap and efficient, and my supply of dry logs will last all winter for a few hundred pounds. Thick walls and low ceilings make it easy to heat the cottage. I find this solution economical and in keeping with my quaint dwelling and an old-fashioned lifestyle, which I had thought was ecological. I do have asthma, which is under control, but the stove may not help. Burning wood is not ideal. But I see no alternative here other than an electric stove, which would be much more expensive to run. My stove also gives a companionable glow on a winter night, which I would be sorry to lose.
David Cottam
Morchard Bishop, Devon