32 A BACKUP PLAN: THE ROLE OF SECONDARY HEATING IN FUTURE HOMES STANDARD COMPLIANCE
“What can we do to be a little bit more proactive and joined up?” Simon Bower, Percy Doughty
Homes Standard. This change came after concerted lobbying by the wood stoves sector, in the face of considerable opposition from organisations such as Mums for Lungs and the Stop Burning Trees Coalition, based on perceptions of stoves from older models, rather than the cleaner solutions that systems such as ‘Ecodesign’ stoves now offer.
Delegates referred to a Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) research report in August 2025 which showed that primary heating was “not always fulfi lling” consumers’ needs, leading to “increased reliance on secondary heating options.” James Verlaque of the Stove Industry Association said that the survey admittedly had a narrow sample of 50 households and didn’t distinguish between old and new properties, but was “quite categoric” in terms of the responses. On four key ‘needs,’ (keeping warm, affordability, fl exibility and comfort), for this sample and for a range of reasons, primary heating was falling short, and secondary heating was required by most respondents.
This report has added fuel to the secondary heating market’s
efforts, showing that it offers some compelling reasons for consumers to buy in. Danielle Michalska-Morris from Taylor Wimpey (and ex Barratt Redrow) confessed that secondary heating was not yet a standard feature in the fi rm’s specifi cations, but acknowledged that consumers may be keen to maintain their current use of secondary heating systems.
Michalska-Morris of Taylor Wimpey offering some salutary insights to the assembled wood burning stove fraternity, saying that secondary heating has “consumer demand for it in new build homes hadn’t been seen” in the businesses she has worked in, including Barratt Redrow. She said it was more popular with “smaller developers, building larger houses; operating in a very different market.” Given this, and that developers are guided by consumer demand, the conversation highlighted the need for better consumer education, and the harnessing of research, to counter negative press and misinformation.
Peter Mintoft of Charlton & Jenrick said specifi ers needed to take into account the wide range of factors affecting decarbonising heating in new homes, from the implications of having heating systems running at colder temperatures than previously, to the psychological pull of having ‘real fi res’ for many customers. With many homes theoretically about to be built without connections to the gas grid, reliance on an electricity grid facing new peak demand levels is likely not to be adequate for customers for whom power outages could pose a risk.
Mintoft also wanted to allay some misconceptions about wood
stoves: “There is tremendous misinformation about pollution, as an industry we really need to get that message across. Ecodesign is already improving emissions nationally and locally, and we need to keep changing over for new stuff that’s better, and not writing it off and saying it’s polluting old tech, it’s just nonsense.”
The debate looked at potential challenges around comfort in colder rooms from new heating requirements under the Future Homes Standard, as well as the location and funding of heat pumps. Delegates said however that alongside the English Government’s acceptance of secondary heating wood burning, their Scottish counterparts’ reversal of a ban on wood burning stoves in early 2025, in the face of a backlash from rural communities, was a further shot in the arm.
Erica Malkin of the Stove Industry Association (SIA) further evidenced the resilience of consumer demand for secondary heating, citing a recent study by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. And Ruoyang Yuan, of the Supergen Bioenergy Hub at Sheffi eld University cited 2023 research which showed “no bad effects on indoor air quality with closed stove technology.” She said there’s a large amount of research underway to support that argument, including into technologies to oxidise soot particles, but caveatted: “Its voice is quite small compared with the other side, and if mainstream funding is going into wind turbines or hydrogen generation it will cool down a bit.”
Challenges for the housebuilding sector around secondary heating
There was a clear need for collaboration between manufacturers, designers and housebuilders to open up the possibilities for wood stoves in new homes, but the impact of Government policies on consumers’ perceptions was a key constraint. This was in contrast to the combined evidence base for wood burning stoves assembled by the SIA, such as its research review by Dr Amanda B Langton at Manchester University, which found “no adverse health effects from the use of solid fuel secondary heating in homes,” said Erica Malkin. Naomi Sadler asserted: “We rely on good quality scientifi c research.”
BUILDING INSIGHTS
The event was an example of a niche topic which offers both opportunities as well as challenges for housebuilders, under close scrutiny by an expert panel
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