There can be few greater winter pleasures than curling up in front of a real fire. The positive mental health effects of a wood fire are well documented and have been shown to lower blood pressure1 and reduce stress. And now, in addition to a warming sense of wellbeing, advanced SIA Ecodesign Ready stoves have been shown to have a positive effect on air quality too.
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Independent tests2 by Kiwa show that advanced Ecodesign Ready stoves produce up to 90% less emissions than open fires and up to 80% less than an average 10-year-old stove.
As well as helping to lower particulate emissions from wood burning, SIA Ecodesign Ready stoves are significantly more efficient to run, using less than a third of the number of logs to produce the same amount of heat as an open fire3.
To help homeowners make informed decisions about heating their home with a wood burning stove, the Stove Industry Alliance has formed a new SIA Retail Group. Members of the SIA Retail Group, a network of independent stove retailers with showroom premises, have made the following pledge:
Members of the SIA Retail Group pledge to help improve UK air quality and reduce the UK’s carbon footprint by advising their customers on the very latest environmentally friendly and low emission wood burning stoves.
Members will explain the benefits of replacing open fires and older stove models with advanced Ecodesign Ready appliances. By offering expert advice on choosing, installing, using the right fuel and maintaining a wood burning stove, members of the SIA Retail Group are committed to helping the public realise the benefits of low carbon wood burning stoves, which provide renewable and sustainable heating for the future.
Chair of the Stove Industry Alliance, the SIA, Morley Sage, commented: “We have all been challenged by the Government’s Clean Air Strategy to improve air quality and by their Clean Growth Strategy to use low carbon, sustainable fuel to heat our homes . By visiting an SIA Retail Group member’s showroom, choosing an SIA Ecodesign Ready stove and using it with quality renewable low carbon wood fuel with less than 20% moisture, you can achieve both of these objectives. There is clear independent evidence that these appliances not only keep you warm and cosy during the winter months in a cost-effective way, they also play a key role in helping to reduce emissions and improve air quality. All you need to do is look out for the SIA Retail Member logo”
In addition to helping to improve air quality, there are numerous advantages in buying a wood burning stove from an SIA Retail Group showroom member, not least receiving personalised and expert advice on the right stove for the customer’s home and the use of qualified competent persons to carry out installations.
Explaining the benefits further, Morley Sage added: “Whether you are looking to buy your first stove, replace an older stove or open fire, by visiting an SIA Retail Group member’s showroom homeowners will receive the very latest advice and be able to choose from a range of appliances that meet or exceed current legal requirements for efficiency and emissions. Many of these appliances will be on display within the showroom and the retailer will be able to guide customers on choosing the right fuel, operating and maintaining the stove and will also offer exceptional after sales care too.”
A full list of SIA Retail Group members can be found at stoveindustryalliance.com/membership/members-of-the-stove-industry-alliance/
- Notes:
- 1 evostudies.org/2012/09/the-psychophysiology-of-fireside-relaxation/
- 2 Kiwa report number 60578 COMPARATIVE SMOKE EMISSION TESTS, 2015
- 3 An open fire will need 16 logs to produce 4kW of heat over a 5-hour period, compared to just 5 logs needed by an SIA Ecodesign Ready stove.