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.

Will A Wood Burner Save You Money?

It's becoming increasingly popular for people to buy a woodburner to supplement or replace a gas or electric heating system because they simply can’t afford to pay their spiralling fuel bills. Changing to wood-fired heating saves many people a lot of money, but it takes time to recoup your initial investment in savings on fuel bills. The savings available vary, but these are the main points to consider when working out how much money you can save.

Purchase Costs
The most obvious cost is buying the woodburner. Wood burning stoves are available to suit all budgets, but the cheapest woodburners are not the most efficient. Spending a little extra to buy a more efficient stove can be worthwhile to gain savings in fuel costs over time. Bargain hunters tend to buy woodburners on the internet in order to get the cheapest prices. It can take a little work to compare deals properly – make sure the price advertised includes VAT and delivery, and see if there are any special deals on chimney liner or free fitting accessories with the stove. To ensure you have full manufacturers warranty cover on the woodburner, check that you are buying from an authorised retailer. You may also need to buy a chimney liner or flue system and accessories such as a stove pipe or register plate. If you are not sure what you need, get expert advice before you buy.

Installation Costs
Installation costs vary enormously depending what work needs to be done. If you need a flue liner for your chimney or to fit a twinwall flue system because you don’t have a conventional chimney, this will increase your installation costs. Sometimes fireplaces need to be altered for a woodburner to be installed, at an extra and sometimes unexpected cost. It is a good idea to have a stove installation survey from a  before you buy a woodburner – this will give you a clear idea of what work is necessary and the associated costs, as well as giving you an opportunity to get expert advice about what woodburner is most suitable for your requirements.
Running Costs
Research prices for firewood or coal both from local and nationwide suppliers, unless you are lucky enough to have a free source of firewood such as a friendly tree surgeon! To get the best prices on firewood or coal you need to buy in quantity – if you don’t already have a suitable storage area factor this into your budget as well. Demand for woodburners is increasing in the UK, but the Forestry Commission is implementing a program to develop the UK wood fuel industry over the coming years to ensure plenty of quality firewood will be available at reasonable prices. Recommended woodburner maintenance includes having your chimney swept at least once a year and an annual service of the stove by a HETAS qualified engineer – it’s a good idea to allocate some of your budget to cover these expenses.

Hillandale Stoves

Hillandale stoves have recently released two ranges of stoves into the industry that are proving to be very popular sellers, these ranges are the Monroe and Monterrey.
Hillandale have given the stoves a number in their title that corresponds to the heat output that they can achieve, for example the Monroe 3 emits up to 3kW of heat and the Monterrey 7 can emit up to 7kW of heat.
All of the stoves in these two ranges are constructed from solid cast iron and have viewing windows that allow you to watch the fire and flames in action. they all have fantastic but differing efficiency ratings too. The 7 models of the Monterrey and the Monroe have 76.3% efficiency, the 5 models have 76.6% efficiency and the smallest 3 models have the largest 81% efficiency. However the Monterrey and the Monroe 3's are not DEFRA approved. Defra approved means that a stove may be used in a smoke controlled area when using smokeless fuels, one of the most readily available and environmentally favorable smokeless fuels is wood, and many manufacturers achieve their output figures from using wood.
As all stoves in the Monterrey and Monroe ranges are multi fuel it means they can all burn solid fuels including coal and peat etc, however the 5 and 7 models are classed as defra approved and can be used in a smoke controlled area when only burning wood and other smokeless fuels.
As standard the Monterrey and Monroe stoves all come ash pans and complementary safety gloves and the stoves are sure to continue making a great impact on the fire industry for the foreseeable future.

Defra Approved Stoves

Defra Approved Stoves in a nutshell are stoves that have been tested and passed the criteria for being used in a smoke controlled area.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs undergo the testing and will approve stoves that are suitable for use in smoke controlled areas.
The Defra Approved logo is becoming more used within the stove industry with some companies even using Defra as a category for stoves. Defra Approval is given when for the burning of wood, although the approval may be given on multi-fuel or solid fuel stoves, the approval is for the burning of wood only in a smoke controlled area, so if you live in a smoke controlled area you can have the stove you have always wanted.
One of the latest stoves to be Defra approved is the Aarrow Ecoburn 5 Wood Burning Stove and can be seen on Stove Megastore in the Defra approved category. Click on the link above for more information on the Ecoburn 5.