HEATING, VENTILATION & SERVICES (FIRES, FIREPLACES & FLUES)
Safe as well as sustainable stoves
Erica Malkin of the Stove Industry Alliance takes a look at the key considerations for self-builders looking to enjoy a wood burning stove in their new home, including recent changes in legislation
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ood burning stoves offer a low carbon, renewable and sustainable way to heat your new build or extension and come with a host of wellbeing benefits for you and your family. Recent changes in legislation, coupled with the publication of the Government’s Clean Air Strategy in early 2019, means self-builders can often be unclear on what their options are when it comes to choosing and installing a wood burning stove.
A LOW-CARBON SOLUTION A modern Ecodesign-ready wood burning stove will produce up to 90 per cent less emissions than an open fire, and up to 80 per cent less than an average stove manufactured over 10 years ago. This makes them an environmentally conscious choice that can help lower particulate emissions, improve air quality and meet Government carbon reduction targets. This puts you, the self-builder, in the unique position of being able to both future proof your new build or renovation while improving air quality.
ECODESIGN
Anyone doing their research on home heating, and especially wood burning stoves, will have come across the term ‘Ecodesign legislation.’ The Ecodesign requirements affecting the wood burning stove industry come into force on 1 January 2022, and from that date only appliances that comply with Ecodesign standards can be sold. The good news is that stove manufacturers are ahead of the curve and there is already a comprehensive range of appliances on the market that meet, and in many cases exceed, the requirements of Ecodesign. Ecodesign-ready stoves feature the very latest fireboxes that have been specifically designed for more complete combustion and which employ secondary
january 2020
and tertiary air systems and precision baffle arrangements to burn off excess hydrocarbons. These Ecodesign-ready appliances are more efficient by virtue of their design, but more importantly, they are significantly less polluting. The Stove Industry Alliance has produced a listing of appliances certified to be Ecodesign Ready and this can be found on their website. With over 500 appliances listed, the SIA Ecodesign Ready listing covers a wide range of styles, both built-in and freestanding, contemporary and traditional.
SMOKE CONTROL Legally, to be able to burn wood in a smoke-controlled area, your wood burning appliance must be certified as being Defra exempt.
Many parts of the UK fall within these smoke-controlled areas and the recently published Environment Bill, while not yet law, will give greater powers of enforcement to local authorities to apply civil fines if you are not complying with the Clean Air Act. Hence, if you are building or extending within a smoke
Ecodesign-ready appliances are more efficient by virtue of their design, but more importantly, they are significantly less polluting
control area you will need to ensure your chosen appliance is Defra exempt. A Defra exempt appliance might not be Ecodesign compliant, and conversely, while in most cases it will be, an Ecodesign-compliant wood burning stove is not necessarily Defra exempt. The test methodology for the two standards is different and therefore you should look
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