HETAS Positioning Statements

Health concerns 

We welcome health-focused research. At HETAS, our remit is practical changes to continue improving the air we breathe. PM2.5 emissions from domestic combustion have fallen by 17% between 2020 and 2023, and our goal is to continue this trend. 

Households that choose to burn should be encouraged and enabled to burn better, and we focus on what cuts smoke now: dry firewood, operating the stove correctly using Cleaner Choice stoves, and regular sweeping and servicing. 

From GAP; an open fire or wood burning stove is the most polluting way to heat a home. 

We agree that open fires are highly polluting and an inefficient way to stay warm over winter. This is why we support moving away from traditional open fires, where much of the heat is lost up the chimney and emissions are much higher. 

The phrase “domestic combustion” is too broad: a modern, enclosed Cleaner Choice stove burning dry fuel performs very differently to an open fire. We support a transition away from open fireplaces, where households are supported to choose how they heat their home. If they choose a solid fuel appliance, our role is to reduce emissions at source by keeping compliant, lower-emission routes visible and easy: Ready to Burn fuel, certified appliances, correct operation, and installation by a professional. 

Overall PM2.5 emissions 

Recent data shows that PM2.5 emissions from domestic combustion have already fallen by 17% between 2020 and 2023, and total PM2.5 emissions from all sources are down by 76% since 1990. The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) and supporting documents show that high-quality fuel burnt on a modern stove only accounts for less than 0.84% of the UK’s total PM2.5. 

This progress is a testament to wide-reaching action taken to continuously advance stove technologies, improve fuel standards, and increase consumer awareness. We believe further gains are possible through targeted, practical measures that focus on helping people move away from polluting open fires and towards cleaner, certified appliances and fuels.  

Indoor pollution from stoves 

Research shows that short spikes of PM can occur during refuelling, but these spikes are manageable with better technique. This is why we encourage all stove owners to speak to their local installer and chimney sweep and consult the manufacturer’s instructions before operation. This ensures they know how to burn optimally – refuelling less often with larger logs, keeping the door closed unless refuelling, and setting the air controls correctly so the flame stays active and a steady intensity is maintained. 

Our advice to households is simple: if you choose to burn, burn better by pairing dry, Ready to Burn firewood with responsible operation and planned care. For step-by-step guidance, we signpost stove owners to the HETAS Advice Hub and their local professional. 

Calls for bans on household woodburning: “Banning solid fuels like wood and log burners in UK homes could save 1,500 lives a year and a staggering £54m in NHS funding

We welcome analysis that keeps attention on cleaner air. HETAS’ remit, however, is to focus on changes that deliver real world reductions practically and can be adopted proportionately. The fastest gains come from cutting smoke where it starts: phasing out open fires in favour of enclosed, certified appliances; aligning fuel quality rules so the public has clear, consistent choices; improving day to day stove operation and maintenance through trusted, expert-led advice; and giving councils workable guidance to support behaviour change and target persistent irresponsible burning. 

Blanket bans risk displacing burning into higher emission, harder to audit practices. HETAS supports actions that keep responsible stove owners engaged as part of the solution while prioritising practical measures that reduce emissions at source. 

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Additional messaging

Open fires 

According to the NAEI, open fireplaces that burn wet wood, produce over eight times more emissions annually compared to modern Ecodesign stoves burning dry wood. 

Open fireplaces are the worst offenders for air pollution when heating your home with wood and solid fuels – they are outdated, inefficient, and incompatible with the government’s new targets. Open fireplaces produce around 1.441 kt/y of PM2.5 versus modern Ecodesign stoves, which produce around 0.174 kt/y of PM2.5.  

Modern wood burners, multifuel stoves, and pellet stoves that meet Cleaner Choice standards, on the other hand, are a whole different technology. These appliances already achieve at least 50% lower particulate emissions than current Smoke Control Area limits, setting a benchmark for future regulation.  

Manufacturers, installers, and other industry professionals are already innovating ahead of regulation, showing the sector's commitment to cleaner air. 

HETAS Competent Person Scheme (CPS) notification indicate a marked, year-on-year decline in open fire installations over the past decade – with the latest annual installation figures at well under a quarter of 2014 levels. This trend reinforces the sector’s shift away from the highest-emitting way to heat with solid fuel and towards enclosed, certified appliances. 

Poor burning habits

A large portion of domestic combustion emissions are caused by poor burning habits, where users are burning unseasoned wood on old, inefficient appliances that don’t meet Ecodesign standards. High-quality Ready to Burn fuel, used in an efficient, regularly maintained Cleaner Choice stove produces significantly less particulate emissions when it burns. 

When used correctly and with the appropriate fuels and maintenance routine, a solid fuel stove can be an excellent, efficient and cleaner source of heat for the home.     

Diesel truck comparisons  

The official figures published for 2022 show that road transport emissions make up over 20k tonnes of PM. The same report shows that PM emissions from domestic burning make up approximately 19k tonnes.  

Comparing diesel trucks with stoves is not straightforward. It’s important to look at the same criteria when validating such claims. Official government statistics state that ‘most PM emissions from road transport derive from non-exhaust emissions’, including tyre wear, brake dust, and road wear. Not just the exhaust emissions.  

Stoves are primarily used for parts of the year, whereas trucks are on our roads all year round; diesel has a wide range of pollutants that are emitted at a low level, while stoves must, according to government regulations and standards, emit fumes above the property or at high level; pollutants from trucks are emitted far and wide, while stoves are used mostly in rural areas.  

When stoves are installed in cities, smoke control areas and stricter rules are in place to reduce particulates and better regulate burning practices through enforcement. 

From Government; Air pollution is a serious public health issue. As set out in our NHS 10-Year Plan, we are committed to reducing emissions from domestic burning to protect public health and local communities.   

We welcome the government’s ambition to accelerate progress on air quality and look forward to contributing to the forthcoming delivery plans to reduce PM2.5 emissions. Actionable measures that cut emissions from domestic burning now include: phasing out open fires in favour of certified appliances, aligning Ready to Burn legislation across England, Wales, and Scotland, empowering stove owners to burn better and avoid the worst behaviours, and encouraging regular sweeping and servicing to keep installations safer and more efficient. 

From Mums for Lungs FOI request: Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request have shown that 15,195 complaints about harmful wood burning have been made by residents across the country. The volume of complaints made within areas which have restrictions on smoke emissions (Smoke Control Areas) increased 65 per cent in the past year, up from 5,600 to 9,274 this year. 

The reality of these numbers could be more nuanced and shouldn’t be taken at face value. 

Just because a complaint is submitted it does not necessarily mean a homeowner has broken the law or will be fined. Education is at the heart of the Smoke Control Area (SCA) mandate, as such many complaints are resolved through advice and education first, followed by a warning letter, with prosecutions and fines the final port of call.  

These figures don’t appear to take into account misunderstandings of the rules or neighbour disputes, or where a single property may have be found to be in breach multiple times, which can skew the numbers. These complaints may also cover outdoor burning such as bonfires, chimineas, and other outdoor fires – not just wood-burning stoves. Without investigation, its not even known if wood burning was the actual source of the complaint. With most of the cases not investigated, it's impossible to state 'wood burning' as the cause.

There is a significant difference between the smoke emitted by an open fire and a modern, efficient stove that is operated correctly, fuelled properly, and maintained consistently. 

A joined-up approach across the UK

Consistency across England, Scotland, and Wales is key. For example, Ready to Burn fuel certification – which bans the sale of the most polluting fuels, like traditional house coal – only exists in England. This causes confusion and means thousands of stove owners across Scotland and Wales can still buy wet wood and coal – two extremely polluting fuels that do not align with the EIP25’s air quality ambitions.  

HETAS supports a joined‑up approach that aligns fuel‑quality requirements, keeps compliant routes visible and easy for households to follow, and equips local authorities with clear guidance and actionable enforcement tools. Our position is to work with governments and partners on practical, enforceable measures that reduce emissions at source without polarising messages.  

Stoves as a problem for pollution 

How and what you burn determines emissions. Open fires and poor burning habits are highly emitting; Cleaner Choice stoves burning dry logs that are ran well and kept maintained produce substantially less smoke. 

Government estimates place Ecodesign stoves burning dry wood at just 0.84% of annual PM2.5 emissions. This is why our focus is reductions at source for households that choose to burn. 

Messaging on ‘non-essential burning’ 

In practice, blanket designations that determine if a household’s burning is ‘essential’ or ‘non-essential’ risk displacing behaviour into more polluting behaviours and not acknowledging the reasons why people choose to burn wood in their homes. 

We back proportionate routes that deliver supportive reductions: help households transition from open fires to Cleaner Choice stoves; align fuel‑quality rules so dry wood is the easy default everywhere; and support correct operation and regular maintenance through trusted professional routes.

The case for switching appliances 

Switching from a traditional open fireplace using coal to an enclosed, Cleaner Choice-certified stove with dry wood can cut smoke by up to 90-95% under test conditions. The lowest-emission Cleaner Choice stoves produce about 95% less smoke than an open fire burning authorised smokeless fuel, underlining the stark difference in both technology and combustion control. 

Enclosing the fire and using a certified appliance that is burning dry wood moves households from a high-emission fire to a much lower-emission way of keeping warm with wood this winter.

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Editors notes

A certification body setting the standards for installers, manufacturers, retailers and distributors, HETAS administers the competent person scheme, Defra’s 'Ready to Burn’ scheme through its sister organisation Woodsure, and is contracted to deliver technical assessment for appliance and fuel exemption under the Clean Air Act. Both organisations are heavily involved with and support the sector’s ambitions of a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable environment.

HETAS’ goal is to advance standards within the industry by advising on policy and through the delivery of its owned certification courses and accreditations, and by supporting the 1.5million stove owners, by raising awareness and educating on better burning habits, highlighting responsible stove ownership, and improving safety.