Wood burners, add warmth to your home

This was written in January 2019, and the rules on stoves have moved since. Check the current position before you buy.

Happy new year from all of us at NU Projects. This week, wood burners.

At this time of year you can smell burning wood walking through London on a cold afternoon. A wood burner brings warmth to a room and becomes the thing people sit around. In addition, a wood burner can add a rustic or modern charm to a room, almost an ornamental piece in itself.

The government has been tightening the rules on wood burners to improve air quality. If your stove is more than ten years old, it is worth looking at replacing it, because the newer designs burn cleaner and give you more heat for the same fuel.

New stoves sold in the UK now have to meet Ecodesign standards, which set limits on particulate and other emissions.

London is a smoke control area, which restricts which appliances you can install and what you can burn in them. Look for a stove that is DEFRA exempt, meaning the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has approved it for use in a smoke control area. The current list is published by DEFRA and it is worth checking the model before you order.

That still leaves plenty of choice. Jotul, Charlton and Jenrick, Dovre and Mendip all make compliant stoves in a range of sizes. Most people go for a traditional glass-fronted design with decorative detailing, but the modern shapes have improved a great deal. A simple gunmetal stove with a tall exposed flue suits a high-ceilinged room.

That is the beauty of the wood burner. It can either be a central piece in a room adding grandeur, or it can be subtly hidden away in the coves of a fireplace. Wood burners are a practical and decorative piece combined.

Remember that with wood burners comes maintenance. Clearing your chimney from soot will not only leave the house and air cleaner, but in terms of safety, it will also prevent fires.

Put one in a living room and it becomes the focal point, for you and for the dog.

Fitting a stove usually means work to the flue and the hearth, and it needs building control sign-off. Tell us about the room, or call NU Projects on 020 7731 6841.