Wood Burners seem to be the latest must have and if you live in the sticks then I can see the logic. However, if you live in the London or another big city with a Low Emission Zone are they acceptable?

latest? really?

I’ve been working overseas for most of the last 3 years so I’m a bit out of touch.

a friend of mine wrote this article on the subject a while back….

Where there’s smoke…

The pollution caused by one clean-burning stove in, I guess, 100 houses is nothing at all compared to the bad old days when coal was cheap, smokey and sulphurous and every house had four or more chimneys and a skivvy to run up and down stairs all day with buckets of coal keeping the fires fed. You only have to look at old photos from the 60s backwards to see the pollution in the air and the black filth on the buldings. This was what the Clean Air Act was designed to address.

Stop worrying. Burn dry hardwood hot and clean in a smallish stove and you won’t be doing any harm.

Stop worrying. Burn dry hardwood hot and clean in a smallish stove and you won’t be doing any harm

I suppose my concern is that if wood burners do become more popular in suburbia, will they be used responsibly? The piece linked above raised some concerns and the legalities are more than a little vague.

Wood Burners seem to be the latest must have and if you live in the sticks then I can see the logic. However, if you live in the London or another big city with a Low Emission Zone are they acceptable?

IMO If you’ve mains gas CH the only reason to have a log burner is fashion. If your house is cold, either turn up the heating and/or insulate better.

As it won’t be cheaper, and they are dirty (both inside and outside).

They will always be a niche product for people who are prepared to make the small effort to collect and store the fuel and spend a few minutes every day on cleaning. Most can’t be bothered or have never made the connection between proper fires and a warm, dry, well-ventilated house.