What is a DEFRA legislation stoves Approved Wood Burning Stove?

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

The stoves are tested independently to ensure the lowest possible emissions. Stoves that are certified as such typically carry the logo 'Defra-approved' in their name or on their specifications.

Approved for Smoke Controlled Areas

Many people believe that living in a Smoke Control Area means you can't have a wood burning stove but this isn't the case. The majority of towns and cities fall under a smoke control zone, however, that doesn't mean that they aren't able to use a wood burning stove. It's simply that they need to burn authorised fuels in their stove (usually brquettes). The Defra-approved stove is a wood-burning stove that has been thoroughly tested to make sure that it meets certain criteria regarding the emissions it produces when burning authorised materials. This means it can be used legally in areas of smoke control.

The Defra Logo is widely used in the industry, and many stoves feature the SE after their names to signify that they are smoke-free. In order for a stove to be SE approved, it must meet strict criteria in regards to emissions, so you can be sure that if you choose a stove that is defra exempt, you are getting the cleanest and most efficient wood stove available.

If you are searching for a wood-burning stove that is Defra-exempt or has SE after its title You will notice that the manufacturer might have done things like ensure that there are enough air intakes on the front of stove to ensure that there is a full combustion of the fuel, and that the size of the chimney outlet is sufficient to prevent accumulation of soot. This is important because it ensures that the smoke from the stove doesn't escape the chimney and into your home.

Another benefit of an DEFRA stoves features approved stove is that it typically permits you to use it with a 5" chimney liner, which is in compliance with UK building regulations, whilst non-Defra approved stoves will need to be fitted with a bigger 6" liner.

At Stovax we are delighted to offer a variety of Defra approved stoves and fires, as well as our Ecodesign Ready stoves that have been developed with the future of air quality standards in mind. In fact, a lot of our Defra approved stoves are suitable for use with smoke control kits for properties located in a Smoke Control Area and can therefore be used with a variety of smokeless fuels that are authorised, such as fire logs.

Approved for Smokeless Fuels

A DEFRA approved wood burning stove, also referred to as a DEFRA exempt stove, is the only type of stove that you can put in a smoke-control area in the event that you intend to make use of it for solid fuel (wood or wood that is well-seasoned). They are inspected by the government to ensure that they don't create excessive levels of smoke. They are able to be used with 'authorized fuels (coal only).

The distinction between a stove that is DEFRA approved and one that is not approved is usually minimal. With a kit supplied by the manufacturer, a lot of modern stoves can be easily made DEFRA conforming in just a few just a few minutes. This is because Defra approved appliances must pass extremely stringent tests and are limited in the amount of smoke they are able to produce.

To ensure that these limitations are not violated during testing, the stove will have to be able to limit the amount of combustion air it gets so that it does not starve itself of oxygen, which may cause it to smoulder. This is achieved by a mechanism in the stove that opens a small amount of air into the firebox during combustion, which is often hidden inside the stove, and under the base of the fire box.

Stove World UK offers a wide range of DEFRA approved stoves from the country's best manufacturers, including Stovax, Arada and Burley. They are available in an enormous variety of styles and designs. You can also select from a vast selection of Ecodesign ready stoves that are designed to meet the future requirements for air quality.

Smoke Control Areas are usually situated around cities and towns with large populations and you can look up the website of your local authority to see if your area is classified as one. It is essential to buy DEFRA stoves an approved DEFRA stove if you live in a smoke-controlled area. This will help you avoid being fined by the local authority. If you burn coal or other solid fuels using a non approved stove, you could be fined up PS300.

Approved for wood

A DEFRA approved wood stove, also called a smoke exempt stove is an appliance that can be utilized in a Smoke Control Area when burning wood. The stove will bear the Defra approved logo or 'SE' after its name which means that it is able to be used in smoke-controlled areas, when burning approved fuels that is, in this instance, wood.

The older wood stoves produce large amounts of particulate matter. These can cause or worsen asthma attacks, respiratory issues and heart issues. It is therefore essential to choose a wood stove that is in compliance with strict emission standards set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency. Look for the "EPA 2020 Certified Label" which indicates that the stove has met the emission limits currently in place.

If you purchase a stove that is not EPA certified and you live in a smoke control area it is necessary to be able to get it certified before you can use it. It is costly and time-consuming, but the law requires it. Homeowners who decide to sell a property with a wood stove that is not certified could be subject to tax credits or fines relating to the clean air.

Most modern stoves can be altered to be Defra approved using a kit or an adjustment that the installer offers. This is due to the primary difference between the DEFRA approved stove and those that aren't is the combustion air management system that regulates how much air flows through the stove in normal operation. The modification will usually be placed on the underside of the firebox or in the base.

Some manufacturers produce two types of wood stove. One is Defra-approved, and the other that isn't. This is due to the process of placing a stove through strict Defra tests is expensive in order to recover some of this expense they will sell the non-approved model at a lower cost. The DEFRA-approved version has been subjected to the modification of the combustion air as part of the testing process.

Approved Gas

Prior to the Clean Air Acts, residential homes could burn any fuel they wanted, which resulted in large amounts of smoke emissions. This caused health problems. To combat this Defra created Smoke Control Areas which meant that residential homes could not emit 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 high-quality stoves approved stoves, also referred to as SE (Smoke Exempt) Stoves, have undergone stringent testing to prove that they can burn cleanly approved fuels in a Smoke Control Zone. They do this by using the most advanced combustion technology that constantly delivers a minimum level of secondary air to the firebox, so that even when the stove is used with fuels that are authorised, such as anthracite or manufactured smokeless coals, it can still comply with Defra's rules for Smoke Control Areas.

If you're looking for an all-new wood burning stove and you live in Smoke Control Area then we recommend that you take a look at the selection of Defra approved stoves which can be found at The Stove Yard. We have a wide range of stoves that are Defra-approved, including traditional models, modern and inset that are made by top manufacturers such as Stovax. Arada, Burley, and AGA.

The good news is that there isn't much of a difference in appearance between a Defra approved wood-burning stove and one that isn't, however the Defra approved models do have various features that are designed to ensure that they burn more efficiently. They usually have an aesthetically different grate and air vents and on gas models, they may have a different size flue outlet.

A Defra Approved Stove will almost always have 5" flue outlet (125mm). This means you can use a smaller stainless steel twin wall flexible liner, which is less expensive than a 6" (150mm). We've used this when the customer has an old or non-standard chimney stack which we are installing the Defra approved wood burning stove into and it reduces the cost of re-lining the chimney stack with a bigger diameter liner.