Choosing to warm your home with a clearSkies certified stove comes with a host of benefits, some of which may well surprise you. Read on to find out more.
General benefits & wellbeing
- A clearSkies certified stove used correctly is a very low emission, highly efficient, low carbon and cost-effective way to heat the main living space in your home and provide radiated warmth throughout the rest of your property
- A clearSkies certified stove can be beneficial for older properties as they are highly effective at providing space heating and reducing condensation, helping to alleviate mould and damp
- A real fire can help promote feelings of warmth and security and provides a focal point for the whole family, in turn benefitting mental wellbeing.
Grid independence & fuel security
- Having a clearSkies stove as a local space heating appliance in your home ensures that you can always heat your property in the event of a power cut and can enjoy independence from the energy grid for heating.
- Owning a clearSkies certified stove offers a financial cushion against fluctuating gas and electricity prices.
- Unlike a standing order, direct debit or pre-payment metre, having a supply of wood or other sustainable solid fuel means your heating is “bought and paid for” and households can gauge exactly how much fuel they are using to stay warm.
PM & carbon emissions
- Scaremongering tactics about “domestic combustion” as a whole are unhelpful. Modern Ecodesign compliant stoves (e.g. clearSkies certified models) burning dry wood make up a tiny fraction of UK particulate matter emissions – less than 0.3% in fact. Source: NAEI
- There are a whole host of human activities that generate PM emissions and all the manufacturers within the clearSkies certification scheme are committed to ensuring that their appliances are as clean and efficient as possible. To put things into context and apply some common sense, cigarette smokers create 4.7 times as much PM2.5 annually as Ecodesign stoves burning dry wood and bonfire night alone in the UK generates 7.4 times the amount of PM2.5 emissions as all the Ecodesign stoves burning dry wood do all year round. Source: NAEI
- Using dry wood fuel is both sustainable and renewable; wood logs have the lowest carbon emissions factor of any domestic heating fuel a with a CO2eq emission factor of 1/19th that of electricity and 1/16th that of mains gas. Source: gov.uk
- There is a world of difference between an open fire and a clearSkies certified stove that has been designed for precision combustion and maximum efficiency. Switching from an open fire to a clearSkies stove will reduce PM emissions by up to 90%.
- Burning dry wood (e.g. Ready to Burn certified) in a clearSkies certified stove can help you significantly reduce emissions and improve air quality.
The Stove Industry Association (SIA) has published a useful article to help dispel some of the myths around wood burning stove use. Check it out here.
Wood fuel industry & biodiversity
- Locally sourced wood fuel helps support small businesses and reduces the carbon footprint of fuel transport. Source: Small Woods Association
- Wood fuel is a key component of the woodland management cycle and the economies attached to it. It also plays a key role in maintaining woodland diversity, health and resilience. Source: Small Woods Association
Unmanaged woodland is bad for wildlife. At present 42% of UK woodland is unmanaged. Source: Small Woods Association
Check out the full list of clearSkies certified stove appliances here.
