In this day and age we're all conscious of emissions and pollution - and so we should be!   But here's some good news - according to a report by the Stove Industry Alliance (SIA) - emissions from wood burners are on the decrease, despite record numbers of sales in recent years.  

DEFRA's latest air pollution data shows an impressive 18% reduction in PM2.5 emissions nationally between 2012 and 2022.   

More specifically to domestic burning, particulate emissions from "domestic combustion" (such as wood burners and solid fuel stoves in homes around the UK, but equally barbeques and other domestic orientated combustion appliances) fell between 2021 and 2022 with a 3.9% reduction in PM10 and a 4% reduction PM2.5 from "domestic combustion".   SIA reports that the latest data also shows that PM2.5 emissions from the domestic use of wood fuel specifically, fell by 2.7%.  

Interestingly this latest air pollution data from DEFRA covers the same period in which the SIA reported a 40% increase in stove sales from its members, which makes up approximately 80% of total stove sales in the UK, compared to the previous year. 

This is great news for wood-fire enthusiasts and stove manufacturers alike; the stringent efforts made to increase efficiency and reduce the particulate emissions from domestic stoves appears to be having an impact.  

"What is clear from the latest data is that, despite an increase in stove sales, domestic emissions have come down. This points clearly and conclusively to the improvement in air quality that can be achieved by replacing open fires and older stove models with modern, Ecodesign design compliant stoves" - SIA

“Despite showing a reduction in emissions from wood burning at home, the demonisation of sustainable solid fuel stove use is once again front and centre of the coverage of the latest Defra data, with many outlets relying on opinion and biased commentary rather than reporting what the data shows. The data released by Defra yesterday clearly shows that PM2.5 emissions from domestic combustion have fallen between 2021 and 2022 by just over 4%, compared to PM2.5 emissions from road transport which have increased by 3.5%. We believe this reduction is due to the growing uptake of highly efficient and low emission Ecodesign compliant stove models to replace open fires and older stoves, and growing consumer awareness of the importance of using the correct fuel.” - SIA

“The SIA looks forward to being able to apportion the numbers more accurately once the NAEI publishes the detailed source and activity name data that drives the top-level figures released by Defra. Last year this clearly showed that PM2.5 emissions from Ecodesign stoves burning dry wood fuel accounted for less than 0.1% of the UK total.” - SIA

The full report from the S.I.A can be downloaded here - https://stoveindustryalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/240215SIAStatementAirPollutionStatsFINAL.pdf