Auldton Stoves Championing Clean Air Strategy

Plans to tackle sources of air pollution are being discussed nationally with the New Clean Air Strategy. As part of its clean air strategy the Government wants to clamp down on all sources of pollution, including coal and wood burning Stoves. Auldton Stoves are on board!

There is no need to panic if you already have a stove as the new limits are only for stoves sold after 2022. Environment Secretary Michael Gove said it would be “disproportionate” to have a uniform ban on certain fuels. He said the air pollution effects in rural areas of fuels, such as diesel, coal and wood are far less to urban areas. He told BBC Radio 4: “What we’ve got here are a series of measures which we hope will deal with what is a big public health issue.” The aim is to drop the number of people exposed to high levels of particles in half, by 2022 and even more by 2030.

They are most worried about a specific type of particle emission (PM2.5) as more and more areas are being affected by this and therefore it is resulting in an increasing level of health issues. PM2.5 is around 200 times smaller than a grain of salt and can end up deep inside your lungs finding its way into the bloodstream. However not all woodburners emit dangerous levels of particles. This is only due to a few reasons:

1. Woodburners that are inefficient.
2. Incorrect use and control i.e. “slumbering” shutting the air vents right down- starving the stove of Oxygen.
3. Burning wet/ unseasoned wood.

Auldton Stoves, DEFRA (department of government), HETAS (official regulator for solid fuel appliances) and our stove manufactures are all aware of this and are putting plans in place to make sure we can make a difference. There is no plan to ban wood burning stoves however they are clapping down on how much stoves pollute the environment.

So that you can understand, stove emissions are measured in g/kg= grams per kilogram. Which is grams of particulates to kilograms of fuel burnt. The existing DEFRA limit (in a smoke control area) for a wood burning stove in the UK is 5.5 g/kg. The Government wants to reduce this by 55% by 2022. The new 2022 Eco-design limit will be reduced to 2.5 g/kg (countrywide). Many of the stoves that Auldton stoves sell already exceed this new limit without having to be redesigned in any way. The stoves that are above 2.5 g/kg only just miss the mark and the manufactures are sure to be ready in plenty of time. The majority of stoves in our showroom already exceed this new limit and have done for many years.

If your stove was purchased before 2022 then your stove doesn’t need to meet the new regulation however every stove purchased from 2022 onwards needs to meet the new emission criteria. This is a good thing for us and our planet. If you already have a wood burning stove you will be advised clearly to burn only dried seasoned wood below 18% moisture. Many in our Industry believe the Government should be offering an incentive for customers with old dirty appliances to up-grade to a new Eco-Design units as they do in other areas in the market.

At Auldton Stoves we have always be championing the cleanest and greenest stoves on the market, it is imperative that the correct fuel is burnt on your stove. We have also been promoting and selling clean, kiln dried wood from our showroom and online since 2005. We were one of the first retailers of Kiln Dried Fuel in the UK. If you have any questions regarding the eco-design stoves we have on offer or our premium fuel please contact us.

Please read SIA summary reports which include scientific evidence of the impact of domestic combustion on air quality.

SIA Research Report summary (1)

A Review of the Impact of Domestic Combustion on UK Air Quality (1)