Time to take a reality check about stoves and air quality. We recently came across this well-considered article 'Ban wood burning stoves? I think not' by Michael Bye at Ceramic Glass. In it he perfectly and reasonably challenges some of the hysterical press and TV coverage about stoves... read more
We've attached a link to great article with a comprehensive overview of everything to do with climate change and the future of energy in Northern Ireland, including what's likely to happen to your oil and gas boilers and if these fossil fuels are likely to be replaced by hydrogen. The article is featured on the Energy Saving Trust website and we would urge anyone interested in these topics to read it, especially when it comes to trying to understand the fundamental differences between the two competing NI Climate Change Bills. We certainly learned a lot. Read more...
At The Stove Yard we've been saying it for years (since we first opened our doors in fact): wood burning stoves deliver renewable, low carbon, affordable heat. Many of today’s wood burning stove owners are happy to tell you that they have been doing their bit for the environment long before carbon reduction and air quality targets made daily headlines. In the last five years it's estimated that nearly 750,000 homes have installed a new stove – many of them replacing open fires and older stoves, ensuring that stoves also make a genuine contribution to economic growth. It's vital therefore that we do not overlook this well-established and much loved method of heating our homes as the country rises to the challenge of the new carbon reduction targets that are soon to become law...read more
The Northern Ireland Assembly's Climate Bill and the stove industry's response
In February 2020 the Northern Ireland Assembly declared a climate emergency. The Climate Bill aims to ensure that Northern Ireland meets legally binding net-zero carbon emissions targets by 2045. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK without such targets. In March of this year the Republic of Ireland approved a similar bill with a net-zero target by 2050. All of this is to limit the consequences of climate change.
I'll admit it, when I was young and daft there was a time when I would have happily burned driftwood, not only on the beach watching the sun go down, but in my open fire at home as well. Free fuel, what could be better? Well, just about anything else actually. It might look great with its smooth sun-bleached and apparently bone dry, bark-free surfaces but I'm pleased to tell you that I know much better now. I'm definitely done with it, so let me explain why you should avoid it if you haven't already.
Whether you like it or not heat pumps are coming. The government has big plans to make them play a major role in the UK's domestic heating mix. Carbon-loaded coal fired electricity generation is now virtually a thing of the past and next on the Governments hit list is doing away with fossil fuels, such as oil and gas. Since domestic heating is one of the biggest users of these fuels, then removing them from our homes has to be a priority. The Government is planning for some 600,000 heat pump installations per year until 2028. But what are they like to live with...
