SIA comment on the EPHA study into health costs related to PM2.5 from domestic sources, 31st March 2022:

The data that this study draws on is from 2018 and, as we know from this February’s data from the NAEI on UK PM2.5 source apportionment, the emissions relating to solid fuel combustion within the home have been more than halved thanks to more accurate wood fuel usage data.

The SIA would be interested in the granularity of source apportionment used in this study. There is no reference made, for example, to outdoor burning sources and their contribution to overall PM2.5 emissions levels.

As the SIA’s own commissioned research shows, outdoor sources, such as the burning of green waste on bonfires, account for up to 51% of PM2.5 emissions hitherto attributed to domestic combustion in the UK. Nor does the report reference any breakdown of appliance type within its “stove” definition.

Open fires, which will undoubtedly be included in the study’s figures for “stoves”, account for up to 70% of wood burnt in London alone.

The particulate matter emissions reduction offered by a modern wood burning stove that complies with the new Ecodesign Regulation by comparison is up to 90%.

All sectors should be working to reduce their air quality impact and the stove industry has been committed to doing so for many years, as evidenced by the launch of the SIA Ecodesign Ready stove label in 2017 and the clearSkies certification scheme in 2020.