What is a Defra Approved Wood Burning Stove?

If you reside in an area where smoking is controlled, it's important to buy a DEFRA exempt stove. A DEFRA exempt stove (or SE) permits you to legally burn wood in a smoke-controlled area.

They are independently tested to ensure the lowest emissions possible. Stoves with this certification typically have the 'Defra approved' logo in their name or specification.

Approved for Smoke Controlled Areas

Many people think that living in a Smoke Control Area means you can't have a wood burning stove and this is not true. The majority of towns and cities are in the smoke control zone, but that doesn't mean you can't use a wooden burning stove. It just means they need to burn authorised fuels in their stove (usually brquettes). The stove that is Defra-approved is a wood-burning stove that has been thoroughly tested to make sure that it meets certain standards in terms of the emissions it generates when burning authorised materials. It is therefore able to be used legally in a smoke control area.

The Defra logo is widely adopted in the industry, and a lot of the stoves that are approved bear SE after their name which means they are smoke-free. To be able to be SE approved, it must meet strict criteria with regards to its emissions and emissions, so you can be assured that when you purchase a stove that is DEFRA legislation stoves exempt, you will receive the cleanest and best burning wood stove available.

When you look for a wood-burning stove that is Defra exempt or has SE after its name, you will often discover that the manufacturer has carried out things like making sure there enough air inlets on the front of the stove to allow full combustion of the fuel, and that the chimney outlet size is sufficient to prevent the build-up of soot. This is important because it ensures that the smoke from the wood stove doesn't escape through the chimney and into your home.

A stove that is Defra-approved allows you to use a 5" liner which is compliant with UK building regulations. Non-Defra-approved stoves require a 6" liner.

Stovax is proud to offer a selection of DEFRA recognized stoves-approved fireplaces and stoves as well as our Ecodesign Ready stoves which have been designed keeping future standards for air quality in mind. Many of our Defra-approved stoves are also able to be used in conjunction with a smoke control system for homes located in Smoke Control Areas. They can be used to burn a variety smokeless fuels, including fire logs.

Approved for Smokeless Fuels

The only stove that can be installed in a smoke-control area is one that is a DEFRA approved wood burner, also referred to by the name DEFRA exempt. The stove has to be used with solid fuel, which is wood, preferably well-seasoned. They are tested by the government to ensure that they don't produce excessive levels of smoke and can be used with 'authorised' fuels (coal only).

The difference between a DEFRA-approved stove and one that is not approved is usually very small. With a kit provided by the manufacturer, many contemporary stoves can be made DEFRA conforming in just a few minutes. This is because the Defra approved stove must undergo rigorous tests and has to be limited in the amount of smoke it is able to produce.

To ensure that these restrictions are maintained during testing the stove will have to be capable of limiting the combustion air supply so that it does not exhaust itself of oxygen, which could cause it to smoke. This is accomplished through a mechanism within the stove which opens an air pocket into the firebox during combustion which is often hidden inside the stove and underneath the base of the fire box.

Stove World UK has a wide range of DEFRA approved stoves, made by some of the most reputable manufacturers in the world including Stovax Arada and Burley. They are available in a huge variety of styles and colors. Select from a broad selection of Ecodesign stoves that are designed to meet future requirements for air quality.

Smoke Control Areas are usually situated around large cities and towns and you can check your local authority's website to determine if your area is classified as one. It is crucial to buy an approved DEFRA stove if you live in a smoke-controlled area. This will help you avoid a fine from the local authority. If you use coal or any other solid fuels in a stove that is not approved stove, you may be fined PS300.

Approved for Wood

A DEFRA approved stove, also called a smoke exempt wood stove, is an appliance which can be used to burn wood in a Smoke Control Area. The stove will have the Defra approved symbol or the word 'SE' in the front of its name, which means it can only be used in smoke-controlled areas when you burn approved fuels. In this case wood.

The older wood stoves produce huge amounts of particulate matter. This can trigger or exacerbate asthma attacks, respiratory issues and heart issues. Therefore, it is essential to buy a wood stove that is in compliance with strict emission standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency. Look for an "EPA 2020 Certified" label, which indicates that the stove meets the emission limits that are now in place.

If you purchase a stove that isn't EPA certified and you reside in a smoke-free zone you must get it recertified before you can use it. It's expensive and time-consuming, however the law requires it. Homeowners who sell a house with a wood stove that is not certified could be liable for tax credits or fines relating to the clean air.

With a kit or an adjustment provided by the installer, a majority of modern stoves can be Premium DEFRA Stoves approved. The primary difference between DEFRA approved stoves and those that aren't combustion air control system that controls the amount of air that flows through the stove when it is operating normally. The change is usually placed on the underside of the firebox, or in the base.

Some manufacturers will produce two versions of their wood stoves one that is Defra approved and the other not. This is due to the process of running a stove through the stringent Defra tests is expensive and to offset some of the cost, they will sell the non-approved model at a lower cost. The DEFRA-approved version will have undergone the combustion air modification in the course of the test process.

Approved for Gas

Before the Clean Air Acts were brought in homes for residential use, homeowners could burn any type of fuel they wanted which resulted in huge quantities of smoke emissions and health problems. To prevent this Defra created Smoke Control Areas which meant that residential homes couldn't produce any smoke from their wood burners or multifuel stoves unless the appliance was Defra approved to burn only approved fuels like manufactured smokeless coals and anthracite.

Defra approved stoves, also known as SE (Smoke Exempt) Stoves, have undergone stringent testing to prove that they can cleanly burn authorized fuels within a Smoke Control Zone. They do this by using the most advanced combustion technology that constantly delivers a minimum level of secondary air to the combustion chamber, so that even when the stove is operating with authorised fuels such as anthracite or manufactured smokeless coals it can still comply with the regulations of Defra for Smoke Control Areas.

The Stove Yard has a wide range of Defra-approved stoves that are perfect for those who reside in a smoke-free area and require a new wood burning fireplace. We have an extensive selection of contemporary, traditional and inset Defra approved stoves from the most reputable manufacturers like Stovax, Arada, Burley and AGA.

The good news is that there is no visual difference between a stove that is Defra-approved and one that isn't. However the stoves that are approved by Defra have a few features designed to help them burn more efficiently. They will usually have a slightly different grate and air vents as well as on gas models they may have a slightly larger flue outlet.

Another benefit of an Defra Approved stove is that they will almost always come with a 5" (125mm) flue outlet. This means that you can use a narrower stainless steel twin wall flexible chimney liner which is less expensive than the standard 6" (150mm) liner. We've seen this helpful when a customer has an older or non-standard chimney stack that we are installing a Defra approved wood-burning stove in and it saves the cost of relining the chimney with a wider diameter liner.