We love our wood-burning stove in the house we’ve just bought, but...

We love our wood-burning stove in the house we’ve just bought, but I have discovered we live in a smoke control area. 

This is the question faced by dozens, if not hundreds of individuals, couples and families faced every year as they purchase their new house, complete with stove, envisioning the stereo-typically romantic image of sat around the stove, the warm glow eminating from the window and bathing everyone in the warm glow. Putting an extra log on the stove as the fire every so often, just to top up the heat.

However this dream can quickly become a nightmare if you become informed you live in a smokeless zone and your stove is not DEFRA approved.

However not all is lost, you can still keep your stove, however you would be slightly restricted to burning smokeless fuels, DEFRA approved status merely means that the stove has been given approval by DEFRA to be exempt from the clean air act when burning wood.

So not to worry if you've just bought a house with a stove that isn't DEFRA approved, you can still burn smokeless fuels and enjoy that romantic image of relaxing in front of a blazing stove with the room covered in the warm glow.