Wood Stoves banned, yet more fake news.
Wood stoves are NOT about to be banned in the UK anytime soon. Although some important changes are on the way throughout Europe.
In 2015 the European Union issued new regulations concerning the use of solid fuel heaters in support of the fight against climate change. The objective is to reduce emissions from domestic burning, by prohibiting the use of the most polluting fuels and improving heater design technology.
You can still use existing heaters and stoves.
Ecodesign explained
Ecodesign is a european-wide programme to lower emissions for solid fuel heating appliances which includes Wood Burners, Pellet Burners and Water Heaters.
The Ecodesign regulations set new minimum seasonal efficiency standards and maximum emission requirements for solid fuel appliances. The emission limits for Particulate Matter (PM), Organic Gaseous Compounds (OGC), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) are drastically reduced .
The first phase, which only affects independent water heaters, was implemented on 1st January 2020. The second phase affects all direct room heating stoves manufactured after 1st January 2022 and is known as ECODESIGN 2022.
What products are affected?
Before they can be sold and installed legally throughout the EU, all appliances manufactured after that date must be tested and verified as meeting the new limits. Distributors and suppliers can continue to sell existing stocks after 1 January 2022.
Leading manufacturers are already manufacturing stoves which meet the 2022 requirements and they are available and on sale now. Ambience continue to support any climate change initiatives and are moving to 2022 compliant models as quickly as possible.
Impact on fuels
Restricting the sale of wet wood and the phasing out of traditional domestic coal will have a major impact. Here in southern Spain, wood is our primary fuel.
Always use clean, dry wood
We continually advise our clients to burn nothing but clean, dry wood. All firewood contains water to some extent. The water content of the wood you burn is critical to the burning process and the amount of pollutants produced. The lower the moisture content, the better and hotter your stove will burn.