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Stove Industry Alliance responds to pollution concerns

The Stove Industry Alliance (SIA) responds to a recent article published on Air Quality News by Dr Rebecca Booth. 

The SIA has long maintained that the ‘38% PM2.5 attributable to domestic combustion’ as quoted in the Clean Air Strategy, and attributed to stoves and open fires, has been significantly overstated and there are three key reasons why:

  1. The most recent government data from research conducted by Kantar (1) shows the volume of wood fuel being used for indoor use is estimated to be 1.73 million tonnes and NOT the 6 million tonnes that BEIS (2) found in 2016 and which was used in the 38% calculation. Using this more recent government figure would reduce the 38% figure by more than two thirds.
  2. The emissions factors used to calculate the 38% are three times higher than the emissions levels permitted under the new Ecodesign Regulations for solid fuel stoves that come into force in the UK on 1st January 2022. The industry awaits a review of these emissions factors
    by the NAEI.
  3.  Furthermore, the corroborating measurements used to assert the 38% figure and taken at air quality monitoring stations are subject to significant levels of uncertainty. The particulates measured also include emissions from various unregulated outdoor burning such as bonfires, fire pits, incinerators, wildfires, pizza ovens and commercial waste burning.

The comparison between a modern wood burner and an HGV is highly misleading and is like comparing apples to oranges.

There is wide agreement in the scientific press that non-exhaust emissions of particulate matter are greater than exhaust emissions. AQEG, Defra’s Air Quality Expert Group, estimates that it is over 10 times the emission rate. The comparison cited by Dr Booth takes no account of this.

We must be very careful comparing two completely dissimilar things and if we do, we must be transparent in the presentation of the data rather than simply misquoting scientific evidence.

What is not shown in the 1:750 diesel truck comparison is how long a GJ of useful low-carbon heat generated by a wood burning stove will last in a domestic setting, compared to how far an HGV will drive in the same period.

The SIA is producing some verified data to show how much PM2.5 is emitted by a wood-burning stove compared to how much a modern HGV emits under typical use and will be pleased to share these findings with Air Quality News in due course.

Dr Booth’s final point about the SIA only making comparisons to the most polluting sources of domestic heat i.e., open fires. We do this as the apportionment of emissions in the NAEI is a very complex area and by comparing open fires and older stoves to modern Ecodesign compliant models, the public can
better understand the vast reduction in emissions that can be achieved by replacing old for new.

A modern Ecodesign wood burning stove produces up to 90% less emissions than an open fire and up to 80% less than a stove that is 10+ years old. To put that in context, in London approximately 70% of wood being used for home heating is being burnt on an open fire (3).

The new clearSkies appliance certification scheme is further evidence of the industry’s commitment to improve air quality by going beyond the legal requirements of Ecodesign to deliver even lower emissions and even greater efficiency (clearSkies Levels 4 & 5).

As well as considering air quality, we must also consider the carbon impact of heating our homes and the sustainability of the fuel we use to do so. A modern Ecodesign stove has less than 1/10th the carbon intensity of gas or electric heating and, when burning wood, is not using a fossil fuel to generate heat.

Against a backdrop of rapidly rising energy prices, wood-burning become increasingly cost-effective as well as being low emission, low carbon and sustainable.

This article is response to an article written by Dr Rebecca Booth, click here to view. 

(1)Source: Estimating UK domestic solid fuel consumption, using Kantar data, Summary of results and discussion; Annexe A of ‘Burning in UK
Homes & Gardens’ Date: December 2020; Version: 1.0; Project code (Omnicom number): AQ1017)
(2) Source: Domestic Wood Survey, 2015/16
(3) Source: London Air

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