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The Stove Industry Association (SIA) welcomes the release of the latest air pollution data by Defra that shows an 18% reduction in PM2.5 emissions nationally between 2012 and 2022.
Particulate emissions from “domestic combustion” fell between 2021 and 2022 with a 3.9% reduction in PM10 and a 4% reduction PM2.5 from “domestic combustion”. The latest data also shows that PM2.5 emissions from the domestic use of wood fuel specifically fell by 2.7%.
The latest Defra data covers the same period in which stove sales, as reported by SIA manufacturing members (representative of approximately 80% of total UK sales), hit a record high. Chair of the SIA, Andy Hill, commented:
“SIA members reported annual sales of over 200k units in 2022, a 40% increase on 2021. This increase was driven by several factors including spiralling energy prices and increasing consumer apprehension regarding grid reliability. 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 such as clearSkies certified appliances.”
The SIA notes that the term “domestic combustion” used by Defra encompasses a range of burning activities at home, and that while solid fuel combustion inside the home makes up most domestic PM emissions, the category also includes emissions from the use of natural gas for cooking and hot water production, oil for space heating, and solid fuels such as charcoal used outdoors on domestic BBQs and firepits.
The SIA also calls for the latest data to be thoroughly reviewed before sweeping statements about the source apportionment of PM emissions are made. Andy Hill, added:
“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.”
“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.”