What is a Defra Guidelines stoves Approved Wood Burning Stove?

If you reside in an area where smoke is controlled, it's crucial to purchase a DEFRA exempt stove. A DEFRA exempt stove (or SE) allows you to legally burn wood in a smoke controlled area.

The stoves are tested independently to ensure the lowest emissions possible. Stoves that are certified are often branded with the 'Defra-approved' logo on their name or the specifications.

Approved for Smoke Controlled Areas

Many people believe that living in a Smoke Control Area means you can't use a wood-burning stove however this isn't true. Many towns and cities are in a smoke control zone but that doesn't mean they aren't able to use a wood burning stove. It just means they need to burn authorised fuels in their stove (usually Briquettes). The DEFRA regulations stoves approved stove is a type of wood burning stove that has been tested to ensure it meets certain requirements in regards to the emissions that it produces when burning authorised fuels and therefore, it can be used legally in a Smoke Control Area.

The Defra logo is widely used by the industry and a large number of the stoves approved bear SE after their name, meaning they are smoke exempt. In order for a stove to be SE approved, it must satisfy strict requirements in relation to emissions, so you can be sure that if you select an exempt defra stove, you will get the most clean and most efficient wood stove available.

If you're looking for a wood-burning stove which is Defra-exempt, or has SE after its name, you will find that the manufacturer has taken steps to ensure that there are enough air intakes on the front of stove to allow for full combustion of the fuel, and that the size of the chimney outlet is sufficient to avoid soot accumulation. This is crucial as it ensures that the smoke from the stove does not escape through the chimney and enter your home.

Another benefit of an Defra approved stove is that it generally allows you to fit it with a 5" chimney liner, which will comply with the UK building regulations. However, non-Defra approved stoves will need to be fitted with a bigger 6" liner.

Stovax is proud to offer a selection of Defra-approved fireplaces and stoves as well as our Ecodesign Ready stoves which have been designed keeping future air quality standards at heart. In fact, a lot of our Defra approved stoves are capable of being used with a smoke control kit for those properties that are in a Smoke Control Area and can therefore be used with a range of smokeless fuels that are authorised, such as fire logs.

Approved for Smokeless fuels

The only stove that can be used inside a smoke-control zone is one that is a DEFRA approved wood burner, also known as DEFRA exempt. The stove has to be used with solid fuel, that is wood, and preferably well-seasoned. The government tests these stoves to ensure that they don't produce excessive smoke and can be used only with approved fuels.

The difference between a DEFRA-approved kitchen and one that isn't approved is usually quite small. A lot of modern stoves can be transformed into DEFRA guidelines stoves conforming with a kit that is supplied by the manufacturer and installed in just a few minutes. This is because Defra approved appliances must pass extremely stringent tests and have a limit on the amount of smoke they can produce.

To ensure that these restrictions remain in place during the testing process, the stove will have to be capable of limiting its combustion air supply so that it does not exhaust itself of oxygen, which can cause it to smoke. This is accomplished by the mechanism that allows an air pocket in the firebox when it's burning. It is typically hidden inside the stove or underneath the base of the fire box.

Stove World UK offers a large selection of DEFRA approved stoves from some of the country's best manufacturers such as Stovax, Arada and Burley. These are available in a wide range of styles and finishes. You can also pick from a wide variety of Ecodesign ready stoves that have been designed to meet the future air quality requirements.

Smoke Control Areas are typically situated around cities and towns with large populations and you can visit the website of your local authority to determine if your area is classified as one. It is important to purchase an approved DEFRA stove if you reside in a zone that is smoke-controlled. This will help you avoid being fined by your local authority. If you burn coal or any other solid fuels in a non approved stove, you could be fined up PS300.

Approved for wood

A DEFRA approved stove, also known as a smoke-free wood stove is an appliance which can be used to burn wood in a Smoke Control Area. The stove will be marked with the Defra approved symbol or 'SE' the front of its name that means it is only permitted to be used in areas controlled by smoke when you burn approved fuels. In this case, wood.

A lot of older wood stoves emit large quantities of particulate matter. These can trigger or exacerbate asthma attacks, respiratory issues and heart issues. This is why it is crucial to purchase an updated wood stove that meets the strict emission standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Look for the "EPA 2020 Certified Label" which means that the stove has met the emission limits currently in place.

If you purchase an appliance that isn't EPA certified and you reside in a zone of smoke control it is necessary to have it recertified before you can use it. It can be costly and time consuming, but it is required by law. In addition homeowners who sell a house that has a wood stove that is not certified could be subject to clean air tax credits and fines.

With a kit, or an adjustment supplied by the installer, a majority of modern stoves can become Defra-approved. The primary difference between DEFRA approved stoves and ones that aren't is the combustion air control system, which regulates the amount of air that passes through the stove when it is operating normally. Modifications are typically made to the base or the underside of a stove's firebox.

Certain manufacturers will make two versions of their wood stove one that is Defra approved and the other that is not. This is because the process of running a stove through the strict Defra tests can be very costly and to offset some of the cost, they'll offer the non-approved model at a lower price. The DEFRA-approved model will have been subjected to the modification of the combustion air as part of the testing process.

Approved Gas

Before the Clean Air Acts were brought into effect, residential homes could use any type of fuel they wanted, which resulted in large amounts of smoke emissions and health issues. To prevent this Defra established Smoke Control Areas which meant that residential homes couldn't produce any smoke from their multifuel stoves or wood burners unless the appliance was Defra approved to burn only authorised fuels such as manufactured smokeless coals and anthracite.

Defra approved stoves, DEFRA guidelines stoves also referred to as SE (Smoke Exempt) Stoves, have undergone rigorous testing to demonstrate that they are able to burn cleanly approved fuels in a Smoke Control Area. The latest technology for combustion delivers an indefinite amount of secondary air into the firebox. This allows the stove to meet Defra standards for Smoke Control Areas even when it is used with approved fuels such as anthracite or manufactured smokeless coals.

If you're in the market for an all-new wood burning stove and are in an area that has a Smoke Control Area then we recommend to look into the wide selection of Defra approved stoves that are available at The Stove Yard. We have a wide range of Defra-approved stoves. These include traditional modern, contemporary and inset models that are made by top manufacturers such as Stovax. Arada, Burley and AGA.

The good news is that there isn't much of a distinction in appearance between an Defra approved woodburning stove and one which isn't, but the Defra approved models do come with various features that are designed to ensure that they burn cleaner. Generally they will have a different grate design as well as air vents. On the gas versions they may also feature a different sized flue outlet.

Another benefit of an Defra Approved stove is that they will almost always have five" (125mm) flue outlet, which means you can use a smaller stainless steel twin wall chimney liner that is cheaper than a standard 6" (150mm) liner. We've used this when a customer has an older or non-standard chimney stack that we are installing a Defra approved wood burning stove in to and it reduces the cost of re-lining the chimney stack with a larger diameter liner.