Are you as green as you thought?
Care4Air is encouraging residents of South Yorkshire to be greener and be Fuel Aware.
Growing numbers of homeowners in areas of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield are using solid fuels to heat their homes. Installations of wood-burners, multi-fuel stoves and open fires are increasing in urban areas, a trend stoked by the rise in electricity and gas prices, the harsh cold snap this winter, and the current downturn of the British economy (The Independent, 2011).
Knowing what can be legally burned domestically now has renewed importance. So what can be burned in a stove or an open fire? In South Yorkshire it is illegal to burn solid fuels that emit smoke from a chimney. Homeowners can be fined up to £1,000 per offence. In addition to traditional solid fuels such as bituminous coal, air quality legislation covers 'greener' and 'renewable' fuels such as wood.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) approves fuels and appliances for use in smoke control areas. Wood can only be burned in 'exempt' appliances, such as approved multi-fuel stoves, wood-burners and furnaces. You can still buy a 'non-exempt' appliance if you only burn smokeless fuels, but you are breaking the law if you burn wood in it. Wood cannot be burned on an open fire at all.
Speak with your nearest participating Fuel Aware retailer today. They can help you find the most suitable smokeless fuel for your appliance.