Wakefords Fireplaces and Stoves

Wakefords Header

By

Burning Solid Fuel and the Environment

With ever more focus on the health of our environment and clean air, many of our customers ask about the different types of fuel you can burn in stoves and which ones we should be using.

The government is focusing increasingly on air pollution and their Clean Air Strategy states that air pollution is the top environmental risk to health in the UK.  While a lot of the air pollution in the UK is caused by diesel and petrol engines and industry, heating our homes is also a factor. The burning of solid fuels has come under scrutiny in recent years so here’s the low down on what you should know.

What are solid fuels?

Put simply, solid fuels are any solid material that can be burnt to release heat.  Solid fuels commonly used in our homes (stoves and fires) include:

  • Traditional coal – this is what most people think of when we say the term ‘solid fuel’
  • Smokeless coal or anthracite
  • Manufactured solid fuels made from coal products that have low smoke emissions
  • Wet wood – this is newly felled wood that has a high moisture content and creates a lot of smoke when burned
  • Seasoned wood – wood that has been left for at least 2 years to dry naturally
  • Kiln dried wood – wood that has been dried in a kiln to below 20% moisture
  • Wood pellets

What impact do solid fuels have on the environment?

The burning of solid fuels releases tiny particles of ash and soot into the air. These tiny particles are known as PM2.5.  PM stands for ‘particulate matter’ and the 2.5 means these particles have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres. Certain types of solid fuel release more of these particles into the air and it’s this that the government is starting to legislate against.

High concentrations of PM2.5 can be harmful to health as well as causing haze or smog.

How to use solid fuels safely

Now we’ve got the negative part out of the way, using certain types of solid fuel can be a great way of heating your home. Not only can it be cost effective compared to gas central heating, but renewable fuels such as wood are also a great alternative to burning fossil fuels. Wood is considered to be a carbon neutral fuel because carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere as the tree grows and is then released when the wood is burnt.

The simplest way to burn solid fuel is in an open fireplace. However, this is not an efficient way to heat your home as most of the heat is lost up the chimney!  The good news is that stoves burn fuel far more efficiently and kick out a lot more heat. Stoves also provide heat for a single room rather than the whole house (heating rooms that aren’t being used).

Stoves are the best way to burn solid fuel

Wood burning stoves are by far the best way to burn solid fuel. New regulations which come into effect in February 2021 mean that coal and wet wood will no longer be allowed. However dry wood – whether air dried or kiln dried – will still be permitted.  More good news is that dry wood is cheaper than coal and coal alternatives.

Aside from the romance of having a wood burning stove in your home and the wonderful warmth they exude, the reasons listed above mean they can be a great alternative to gas central heating.

If you’d like advice on stoves, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us for more information.

More from the blog

Wood burning stoves are NOT being banned

The ultimate guide to buying a wood burning stove

By

Focus Fireplaces Workshop and Showroom Tour

It’s always a pleasure to be invited to see a manufacturer’s showroom as it can be hard to visualise the products in a catalogue but seeing them in the flesh can make a product stand out.

The Focus Fireplaces showroom was filled with great examples of surrounds and beams that had been put with some outstanding fires which made the products from Focus Fireplaces really shine.

Having a tour of the workshop allowed us to fully appreciate the in house production of their wooden beams and surrounds, along with their quick and efficient delivery system which all happens in the same building. It’s easy to see why the products from Focus Fireplaces are of such a high quality when the production process is the efficient and streamlined.

The amount of work done by hand did come as a surprise, considering the intricacy of the designs and the amount of automation most companies use these days, which makes Focus Fireplaces a special company when it comes a high standard of hand crafted products.

With the office and workshop purposely situated in the same building, manufacturing is smooth and efficient with every surround and beam made to order.

For more information on Focus Fireplaces you can visit their website here or alternately you can call or visit our showroom.

By

Our Town & Country Stoves Tour

When working in a competitive market it can be difficult to compare products and companies on paper, that’s why it’s always a pleasure to visit the workshops and offices of the manufacturers we work with.

After visiting the Hearth & Home exhibition in Harrogate, we were lucky enough to be invited to see the Town & Country stoves being built and were given a hands on look at new and updated products.

The machinery and automation processes were impressive but the handcrafting of parts and the physical checks being done to assure quality were something rarely seen in today’s day and age.

One thing that caught our eye was the amount of pride everyone seemed to take in their work, we had several of the Town & Country assembly/manufacturing team jumping into our tour to give us a full explanation of what they were doing.

The passion for the products at the Town & Country workshop shows in the finished products and with new solid fuel and gas stoves on the way it’s definitely worth watching this space.

A full video tour is available for viewing here.

For more information on Town & Country products, you can visit their website here or alternately you can call or visit our showroom.

By

A chimney Horror Story – Part: 2

When installing or owning a fire, fitting protection can be seen as an extra cost that seems unwarranted and it can be hard for installers to stress the importance of fitting rain and bird protection to the top of a chimney.

Recently we were asked to help replace an old inset gas fire that had been condemned, we were more than happy to help this new customer with their fire troubles and see if we could either fix or replace what they currently had.

When we arrived at the property to get an idea of what would need to be done, some telltale signs started to become apparent.

There are many reasons an appliance may stop working correctly, from appliance issues to chimney issues and figuring out where the problems are can involve some investigating but can help to avoid more trouble in the future.

The old gas fire in this customer’s property had some twigs and leaves that had fallen through the chimney onto the burner, this can be quite dangerous, especially if a fire is running when these fall down.

Current gas fires have built in safety measures to shut the fire off if there is an issue with the appliance, older fires don’t necessarily have these features and can therefore be dangerous if the appliance and chimney isn’t cared for.

The twigs and leaves were a sign that a bird had likely made its nest in the chimney, a common issue with un-protected chimneys.

A sweep like this can be a lengthy and expensive process that is easily avoidable by adding protection to the top of your chimney.

It took the chimney sweepers from ‘Cleansweep’ an hour and a half to fully unblock the chimney and remove the birds nest from the property.

Adding protection can help to prevent birds nesting in the chimney, downdraught and rain, all of which are common issues with an unprotected chimney pot.

For more information on protecting your chimney or to organise a chimney sweep, call or visit us in our showroom.

If you would like to organise your own chimney sweep, you can contact ‘Cleansweep’ directly on – 01483 473794