Your Village Hordle April May 19

Tales from the Fireside
Over the last few weeks and months there’s been a
lot of negative press regarding wood burners and
open fires. So I’m going to give what really is
happening and what the government is trying to
do. Last summer DEFRA invited the Guild of Master
Sweeps, HETAS and other concerned organizations
to a meeting to discuss the Governments Clean Air
Strategy.
I have taken the relevant points and translated
them into normal English.
Is the government going to ban stoves?
No – there is nothing in the Clean Air Strategy that
makes reference to this. Any appliance already
fitted will be able to continue as normal.
Will the government ban future sales of stoves?
No, however the type of stove for sale may change.
Its most likely they will have to be DEFRA-exempt
appliances. This is good news because it means a
greater choice of fuels (both wood or smokeless) in
any area.
Is the government going to be banning coal?
It’s likely that the sale of bituminous house coal will
be prevented in the future but sales of smokeless
fuel will continue. No final decision has been made.
What about the sales of Logs in net bags?
Again the government has still not made up its
mind. It’s a problem of control. Here at the Guild
we advise NOT to buy logs in net bags as it
generally unseasoned wood and the net holds
water. You can’t burn wet wood.
If domestic stoves cause pollution why would I
want one?
Stoves themselves are not polluting , the way some
people use them is. The truth is very few people
are shown how to use the fire properly, so they
rarely burn efficiently until they are either shown
or ask or have the flue/chimney swept. I’m always
very happy to help and give a demonstration on
how best to use you appliance. Remember wood is
sustainable. Also the more trees we plant the
cleaner our air becomes.
My stove is more than 10 years old should I
change it?
If you can afford it then yes. New stoves are very
efficient even the very cheap and nasty ones are
65% efficient. A good one will be more than 80%
efficient.
I have an open fire how efficient is it?
Depending on the fuel type, design of chimney etc.
A rule of thump would be 20% to 30% efficient.
Compared to wood burner/Multi-fuel stove are 9
times more efficient.
Last question is air pollution getting better or
worse? It may surprise you that all sources of
pollution in the UK has been dropping year on year
for the last 30 years (Source UK/Gov.) the
exception is Nitrogen dioxide which comes mostly
from vehicles.
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