Why do we use wood? Why in the urban forest? Wood provides answers to important raw material questions of the future and has clear advantages over other types of energy:
- Wood grows back
- Trees need CO2 to grow, among other things, and oxygen is produced as "waste gas". When wood decomposes, the processes are reversed. This means that wood is a CO2-neutral raw material!
- Wood is environmentally friendly to work with
- Wood is versatile in use
- Wood is easy to dispose of.
- Wood production is uniquely environmentally friendly compared to other building materials. The energy requirement per ton for:
- sawn wood 5 kilowatt hours (kWh)
- Concrete 300 kWh
- Brick 500 kWh
- Glass 6,000 kWh
- Plastics 8,000 kWh
- Aluminum 72,000 kWh
This means that wood production causes significantly fewer emissions than other building materials. If wood is thermally recycled at the end of its useful life, its energy balance is even better than that of alternative building materials.
Germany's forests have the largest wood reserves in Europe. The Federal Forest Act and the State Forest Act ensure that our forests are not overexploited. In a normal year, 14,465 cubic meters (m³) of wood may be used in the forests of the city of Aachen, which corresponds to around 450 loaded trucks. However, the current growth of our forests is 17,464 m³, which means that even less is used than is growing!
In addition, wood has a major significance in terms of labor market policy and the national economy, which should not be underestimated: A study shows that the forestry and timber industry in the industrialized country of Germany has a much greater significance in terms of labor market policy and the national economy than previously assumed. According to a new definition of the European Union, the survey revealed a share of over 1.3 million employees and a turnover of around 181 billion euros. This means that significantly more people work in the forest and wood value chain than, for example, in the chemical industry (465,000), the automotive industry (780,000) or electrical engineering (810,000).
Firewood
Cost-effective and environmentally friendly
The demand for classic firewood increased noticeably in 2006 due to the high prices for fossil fuels and remains at a consistently high level. There are good reasons for the renaissance of wood as an energy source. Wood is produced in sufficient quantities during forest management and is constantly growing on our doorstep. It burns CO2-neutrally and creates a cozy warmth and atmosphere.
The firewood auctions, which have been held regularly since 2006, give many people the opportunity to buy firewood at auction. The trees are felled and grouped together into sales lots of different sizes, usually between four and 20 cubic meters, using colour markings on the surface. The quantity of a sales lot is to be estimated by the bidders. The auction starts with a minimum bid set by the municipal forestry office.
This year there will be neither a firewood auction nor a firewood raffle in Aachen Forest.
Requirements for bidding
- No commercial use of firewood
- No other purchase of firewood from the Aachen forest
- Possession of full body protection equipment (helmet with ear and face protection, gloves, cut protection trousers, safety shoes).
- Possession of a chainsaw and a suitable means of transportation (e.g. car trailer)
- the wood may only be processed when accompanied by a second person
- Possession of a chainsaw operator's license
- Use only rapidly biodegradable chain oil. It is recommended that only alkylate gasoline (e.g. Aspen) is used to reduce health risks from chainsaw exhaust fumes
If you would like to find out more about the calorific value, conversion measures and the like, you can do so with the help of information sheet 12 from the Bavarian State Institute for Wood and Forestry.