Wood burners and open fires face restrictions in new clean air plan

[Chippy_Tea]

I have a coal fire and was thinking of moving to a multi fuel stove i think i will put that on hold until they make a final decision.

Wagons and busses run on diesel do 4 - 6 miles per gallon and pollute the air within feet of where we walk yet there hasn't been a call to ban them as far as i know would that be because the expense of replacing all trucks and busses with cleaner versions would put the price of the goods they deliver up massively?





https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46823440

Wood burning stoves, open fires and farms all face new restrictions as the government sets out what it calls a "world leading" plan to tackle air pollution.

In their Clean Air Strategy, published today, the government promises to set a "bold new goal" to reduce particulates across much of the country by 2030.

But green groups say the scheme is vague and severely lacking in detail.

They believe the plan proposes nothing new to tackle roadside dirty air.

The new strategy, which is focused on tackling air pollution in England, has been launched just days after the family of a nine-year-old girl who died from asthmawere given permission to apply for a fresh inquest into her death.

The government's chief lawyer heard new evidence her death could be linked to unlawful levels of air pollution.

 

[simon12]

My 1st thought was its an excuse for more tax on stuff but looking at the strategy its not mentioned
"
We will:

legislate to prohibit the sale of the most polluting fuels

ensure that only the cleanest stoves are available for sale by 2022

make changes to existing smoke control legislation to make it easier to enforce

give new powers to local authorities to take action in areas of high pollution

work across government to look at opportunities to align our work on air quality, clean growth and fuel poverty in future policy design

develop a dedicated communication campaign targeted at domestic burners, to improve awareness of the environmental and public health impacts of burning

work with industry to identify an appropriate test standard for new solid fuels entering the market

work with consumer groups, health organisations and industry to improve awareness of NMVOC build-up in the home, and the importance of effective ventilation to reduce exposure

work with consumer groups, health organisations, industry and retailers to better inform consumers about the VOC content of everyday products

explore a range of options including the development of a voluntary labelling scheme for NMVOC containing products, and assess its potential effectiveness

work with consumer groups, health organisations, industry and retailers to promote development of lower VOC-content products and to reduce emissions from this sector."

So it looks more like just a ban on coal and at least some wood for burning at home plus a load of regulations on wood burners. It seems alot of red tape to have very little impact to me.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

So it looks more like just a ban on coal and at least some wood for burning at home plus a load of regulations on wood burners. It seems alot of red tape to have very little impact to me.

Exactly my thoughts, smokeless coal is not really an option either its a lot more expensive and a total bitch to light and what do you burn to get it to light firelighters or newspaper and kindling (wood) its just another case of them sounding like they are doing the right thing but its all smoke and mirrors they are not going to go for those that actually cause most of the pollution. (as i mentioned above)

.

 

[Ghillie]

It's all a pile of *****, yet another means to extract more money from honest people.

We have a wood burning stove and when burning properly seasoned wood it's virtually smokeless.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
A former student of mine had an open fire that he called a "smoke eater" - he burned coal in a smokeless zone.

 

[Ajhutch]

More ridiculous meddling from wet liberal hippies like.......Michael Gove. It’ll never happen and is just displacement activity, I won’t say what from though

 

[prog99]

Sceptics should read up on why Chamonix has such bad air pollution and its not diesel as you may assume.

 

[the_quick]

It is well known fact that most of the pollution comes from generating electricity in our power plants. but are they talking about more nuclear ones? Of course not. It is same with cars, they always talk about small cars, but never about big old tracks and busses.

 

[Graz]

I have a coal fire and was thinking of moving to a multi fuel stove i think i will put that on hold until they make a final decision.

It's only for new stoves being sold from 2022 though. If you have one fitted now, it meets the regs and you get a HETAS certificate for it then they're not going to suddenly say you can't use it anymore. I wouldn't let whatever they want to do in future influence your decision now. In fact probably better to get one now as the newer ones will be more expensive due to the cost to the manufacturer of certifying them.

My experience of the industry is that they're pretty slack about this sort of stuff anyway as it's ultimately all sales driven. We live in a supposed smokeless zone and one company we looked at using for a wood burner just told us to get any multi-fuel that we liked the look of and if ever anyone from the council came knocking (unlikely) just to say that we only ever burnt smokeless fuel on it. They also said that all they do on the DEFRA / smokeless approved burners is put a stop in the air vents so you can't close them down to a point where your fire would be smoky.

 

[MyQul]

I know nothing about them or their legislation, but I love an open fire (in a pub)!

 

[Saisonator]

I would just do it, very unlikely someone is going to knock on your door and tell you to put your stove out.

 

[keat64]

I heard something equally as ridiculous last night on talk radio.
The radio presenter selling the virtues of burning kiln dried logs as they were cleaner.

Erm, let me think...... where does the energy come from to kiln dry them ???

 

[the_quick]

kiln dried wood is least environmental friendly. As you must use ton of energy to dry the wood.

All my wood is barn dried and it is absolutely fine and cheaper

 

[Duxuk]

Burning wood is carbon negative, since the tree has absorbed CO2 it's whole life and only a proportion of that it returned to the atmosphere when you burn it.
They are always telling us to reduce our CO2 output but not in this case. They're asking us to do the opposite.
I heard on radio 4 (so it must be true!) that 20 or 25% of all particulates in Germany are released on New Years eve when millions of fireworks are lit. They should get on to the Germans to do something about that before they trouble us.

 

[simon12]

2 more points.
1 CO2 is about climate change and particulates are about air quality and whats good for 1 isn't always good for the other though burning in general is bad for both how its burn could be better for 1 and worse for the other. For example I think diesel is better for CO2 as you don't burn as much but its far worse for particulates also catalytic converters are good for air quality but since they suck up some power are bad for CO2 as more fuel has to be burn't.
2 I wonder how much it cost to think up this idea and how much it will cost to enforce.

 

[Clint]

Myqul don't care a monkeys...he powers all his stuff and heating through a lightning conductor....

 

[Gunge]

Tree-hugging bleeders, at it again....

 

[Portreath]

I have an open fire and it's the most environmentally sound open fire imaginable, because we don't use it! Throwing a bag of logs on it is like chucking fivers on it, expensive and short lived.
Down here in Cornwall every 5th van on the road is a sodding wood burner company.

 

[Gunge]

I have an open fire and it's the most environmentally sound open fire imaginable, because we don't use it! Throwing a bag of logs on it is like chucking fivers on it, expensive and short lived.
Down here in Cornwall every 5th van on the road is a sodding wood burner company.

You need to visit some industrial / distribution premises in the middle of the night and make off with all their pallets which you can then chop up for fuel. Scavengers are at it all the time at our works. I just tell 'em to help themselves... I could not give a toss.

 

[stz]

I've a wood burner. It is an 'eco' one with a tertiary heated air intake suitable for wood burning in a smoke control zone. The house is old and pretty much designed to be cold and dry year round. When I bought the place they were using open fires. It doesn't make a lot of sense to seal up the place and heat the whole house so we heat the main living room. With the house built around the chimney stacks the heat gets around a bit. If I did insulate the place to death and heat everywhere it'd get damp problems, though it probably doesn't help that I don't have radiators upstairs. I used to fell and cut on a farmers land, free work for the wood and then split and stack like an obsessive, but the older I get the less attractive the 'free' wood became. Working in a ditch, red hot summer, wasps nests, wreaking the rear suspension, fed up. I buy a fair bit of solid fuel and go out of my way to hoard a limited amount of wood each year, but my point is I know the difference between well seasoned and green firewood. I wouldn't burn green wood because I don't need to, it throws out rubbish heat and wreaks your liner.

I accept fully that burning stuff to generate electricity elsewhere and then using that in residential areas is better for residential air quality. I fully accept that natural gas produces less particulate matter. I make an effort to not burn complete rubbish, but accept that others aren't bothered and for some areas it could be a problem.

I can't accept that this policy is anything other than lip service which masks and deflects attention from the real issue. There must be 5-6 clapped out vans within eyeshot right now which will be idling diesel fumes most mornings and part of the evening. Taxis, buses, lorries, the show must go on, but I can't believe that reducing the output from the relative handful of wood burning stoves amounts to anything compared to a fleet of old knackard wagons. You could knock it on the head entirely and I bet the fraction of a percent that it contributes is barely noticed.

If you've an urban area with poor air quality surely the local road system is the primary source on an average day. You must have what? One or two wood burners on a modern street mostly owned by people using them as an occasional feature rather than a primary source of heat. Car ownership and habits.

What I'd hate is if I have to burn 'approved' fuel wood only which would mean buying in wood with a certificate which would defeat the point and arguably be worse for the environment. But I guess they don't care if it is kiln dried somewhere else where they have to deal with the air quality.