“It cost me 115 euros and I think I will have enough for 3 or four months.”

Split wooden nets are sold at service stations, supermarkets or specialists. In Île-de-France, more than 540,000 households are equipped with wood heating. A rigorously regulated use which has made it possible to reduce particle emissions by more than 34% since 2005.

At 7:30 this morning, while Paris is slowly waking up, Franck Ceglia, delivery driver, begins his last delivery of the day. On his hand truck, four large split wooden nets: “I'm a little earlyin general customers like to be delivered very earlywhich suits me because it allows me to avoid traffic jams“.

The building has a small elevator, making it easier to transport wood to the 5th floor. Due to lack of space, the delivery man takes the stairs. Upstairs, Laurent, a loyal customer for three years, welcomes the delivery with a smile: “I have just moved into my new apartment and I light the fireplace from time to time for fun. It cost me €115 and I think I will have wood for around three or four months. In my old place, the heating was collective, here I don't know what type of heating is, I'll find out.”

I fear an increase in prices in the coming months because of the long rainy periods we have experienced.

François Delaisse

Manager of La Ferme du Clos d’Artois

Franck Ceglia made six deliveries this morning, half his usual rate: “I had to unload the fillets to the previous client, a restaurateur who cooks over a wood fire. The fireplace was still hot so it was quite physical. In these cases, the number of deliveries is reduced so that I can do everything on time.“, he explains. La Ferme du Clos d'Artois, which sells this wood to restaurateurs, supermarkets and individuals in Île-de-France, sources its supplies from the ONF, the National Forestry Office : “Our wood is certified, meaning it comes from sustainable, quality management. We are in peak season from mid-October to March and our six trucks deliver every day throughout the region“, welcomes its manager François Delaisse. He is, however, concerned about a probable future increase in prices: “I fear an increase in prices in the coming months because of the long rainy periods we have experienced. The soils are muddy and our supplier fears damaging the land when cutting wood. There may be less wood than in previous months“. The company is nevertheless preparing for the Christmas gunshot.

Wood can be found in supermarkets, from heating specialists but also at Total network service stations, from 8 euros 50 per net. Example in Yvelines where Marie-Paule comes to get supplies by car after filling up with fuel: “It makes the children happy and it’s an opportunity to have a good time with the family by the fire this evening. We feel a bit that the Christmas spirit is approaching”she says.

The use of wood heating is strictly regulated by the interprefectural decree of January 31, 2018 which imposes specific conditions adapted to each geographical sector. According to the DREIAT (Regional and Interdepartmental Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Transport), of the more than 540,000 Ile-de-France residents withindividual wood heating, 15% of them use it for leisure.

In its report published in January 2024, DREIAT also informs that since 2005, particle emissions linked to wood heating have decreased by more than 34%. A significant advance due to the reduction in the use of open fireplaces and the replacement of old equipment with modern and more efficient solutions, certified Flamme Verte.