The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is calling for greater powers from the Government to tackle pollution from the Thames, construction machinery and the burning of fuels such as wood and coal.
The Mayor has called for more powers for London to clean up toxic air in the capital, which among many things include tighter limits for wood-burning stoves, and to create zones where the burning of solid fuels is forbidden.
Open Fires are the real issue.
The problem in London is burning wood on open fires – not on high efficiency wood burning stoves. According to BEIS (The Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy) 70% of the wood burnt in London is burnt on open fires, even though this is not permitted under the Clean Air Act. This is the worst way to burn wood both from the heat generated and the emissions produced.
A Platform for Ecodesign to Shine.
Replacing open fires and older stoves with the new Ecodesign Ready stoves could reduce emissions by 90%. The Stove Industry Alliance (SIA) has proposed an upgrade scheme to help people move away from their open fires and enjoy the benefits of a modern clean burning stove.
With PM emission limits that are 55% lower than the current Clean Air Act limits, Ecodesign is a regulation, which will be at the heart of what Sadiq Khan wants to achieve. The Ecodesign emission limits are due to come into force in 2022 but the SIA has introduced the stoves now.
Open fires, which need to be monitored with much more diligence in the capital are the main offenders here. Classifying the burning of all solid fuels together, whilst failing to really appreciate the huge environmental differences between open fires and high efficiency stoves, would be short sighted. The key differences are huge, and need to be understood by everyone at all levels.
Supported by DEFRA, Ecodesign is a new Europe wide emissions regulation for stoves, and space heaters due to be introduced in 2022; and the members of the SIA have already committed to bringing forward this date to 2020.
In Conclusion:
A huge amount of research and development has been put into making Ecodesign a reality, with the objective of creating a highly environmentally friendly, sustainable way to heat a home for the future.
It is vital that people, whether they be the Mayor of London, or a consumer looking for an efficient way to heat their home, are aware of the significant role that burning wood in a high efficiency, Ecodesign stove can play in a cleaner, greener future.
All the Purevision, Woodtec and Go Eco stoves in the Charlton and Jenrick range are already independently verified as SIA Ecodesign Ready.
