Summer Cleaning Reminder: Don’t Forget Your Chimney and Stove!
As the days grow longer and the air warmer, summer is the perfect time to freshen up your home—and that includes areas that often go unnoticed. While you're busy decluttering and deep-cleaning, don’t forget one of the most important parts of your home: your chimney and stove.
Why chimney and stove maintenance matters:
Your chimney and stove should be professionally cleaned and serviced at least once a year. Regular maintenance ensures they run efficiently, keeps your home safe from potential fire hazards, and helps prevent dangerous build-up like creosote.
If you live in an older or thatched property, it’s highly recommended to schedule cleanings twice a year. These properties are more susceptible to risks associated with chimney fires, making routine care even more essential.
Book your annual service today!
Whether you're prepping for the colder months ahead or simply ticking off your summer cleaning checklist, give us a call to arrange a professional cleaning and inspection. For expert advice or to schedule your appointment, call us on 01392 811597.Contact
Let your spring and summer cleaning be thorough—inside and out!
A Guide to Woodburning Stove Warranties & Maintenance
Woodburning stoves are a fantastic addition to any home, offering warmth, charm, and efficiency. But like any investment, understanding the warranty and proper servicing is crucial to ensure long-term performance. In this guide, we’ll break down the key elements of woodburning stove warranties and offer tips to keep your stove in top condition.
Understanding Your Woodburning Stove Warranty
Most manufacturers take great pride in producing high-quality stoves that meet strict industry standards. However, warranties vary depending on the manufacturer and purchase conditions. Here’s what you need to know:
1-Year Standard Warranty
Most stoves come with a standard one-year warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship.
Extended 2, 5, and 10-Year Warranties
If purchased from an authorized retailer and registered with the manufacturer, stoves may be eligible for extended warranties. Be sure to:
- Register your stove within two months of purchase.
- Retain proof of purchase throughout the warranty period.
- Ensure proper installation by a certified professional (e.g., HETAS registered).
Keeping Your Stove Warranty Valid
To maintain warranty coverage, you must follow specific servicing requirements:
- Annual servicing is mandatory for room heaters, boilers, and solid fuel stoves.
- Professional installation and maintenance must be carried out by qualified technicians.
- Chimney sweeping should be done at least once a year.
- Use only manufacturer-approved spare parts and consumables.
Failing to meet these conditions could void your warranty, leaving you responsible for repair costs.
What’s Not Covered?
While warranties provide peace of mind, they don’t cover naturally wearing parts. Common exclusions include:
- Fire bricks
- Glass & ceramic seals
- Grate parts & ash pans
- Clip-in boilers Additionally, improper fuel usage (e.g., petroleum-based coals or wood with high moisture content) can lead to damage that isn’t covered.
Maintaining Your Woodburning Stove
Beyond warranty conditions, regular maintenance extends the life of your stove and improves efficiency. Best practices include:
- Burning dry, seasoned wood with low moisture content.
- Cleaning the stove and flue regularly to prevent creosote buildup.
- Inspecting seals and gaskets for wear.
- Addressing minor issues promptly to avoid costly repairs.
By following these simple steps, you can enjoy a warm, cosy home for years while keeping your warranty intact.
Final Thoughts
Woodburning stoves are an investment in comfort and sustainability. Understanding your warranty and maintaining your stove properly ensures that you get the best performance while avoiding unnecessary expenses. Always refer to your manufacturer’s warranty and servicing guidelines for specific details.
For expert guidance on choosing the right stove and maintenance tips, [Countryheatdirect] is here to help!
Spring Cleaning! Just a reminder not to forget your chimney needs cleaning together with your stove cleaned and serviced. This should be done at least once a year and if you have an older or thatch property it is a good idea to have this done twice a year. For further advice give us a call on 01392 811597.
Assessing the quality of the wood and its moisture content for your wood stove. Have a look at this video to help you make sure you have the best quality wood for your stove. Find out more about the TermaTech stoves from our website.
Domestic combustion emissions fall below road transport emissions in 2023
Defra's annual emissions report reveals annual particulate emissions from domestic combustion have continued to decrease, falling below road transport emissions in 2023.
In their annual emissions report, figures from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) reveal that annual PM2.5 and PM10 emissions from domestic combustion have continued to decrease, falling below road transport emissions in 2023. The 2023 figures are the most recent covered by this report – each annual report collates estimates from the prior year (then are published in February the following year) to monitor progress against the UK’s emission reduction targets.
Comparing the rate of improvement, the domestic burning sector appears to have made better progress than the transport sector – although the challenges faced by each sector are very different. It highlights the significant improvements the industry has made in reducing overall air quality impacts from domestic solid fuel and biomass combustion.
Domestic combustion is defined in the report as “households burning a variety of fuels including wood, solid smokeless fuels, coal and fuels derived from waste such as coffee logs” – this includes unregulated practices such as bonfires, firepits, and barbecues. It’s important to remember that this term encompasses much more than households warming their homes with a wood burner.
Key statistics
Domestic combustion particulate emissions have decreased since 2022.
In 2023 (the most recent data available), domestic combustion contributed to:
- 20% of total PM2.5 emissions
- 10% of total PM10 emissions
2022’s data stated that domestic combustion contributed to 29% of total PM2.5 emissions and 15% of total PM10 emissions. This year’s report shows a significant improvement.
Industry efforts
This reduction follows continued progress across the whole solid fuel industry to reduce domestic combustion emissions.
From high-efficiency Cleaner Choice appliances using Ready to Burn fuel, to high-quality installations paired with ever-increasing consumer awareness and education, HETAS and industry have stepped up to the challenge and worked together for a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable environment.
Emission Reduction Commitments
The UK has committed to reducing the annual emissions of five key air pollutants (ammonia, NMVOC, nitrogen oxides, PM2.5, and sulphur dioxide). These are referred to as emission reduction commitments (ERC) and were set in the National Emissions Ceilings Regulations (2018).
The ERC require the UK to reduce annual emissions of these five key air pollutants by a percentage in comparison to the UK’s annual emissions in 2005. This reduction is to ensure emissions are continually reduced, with the 2005 emissions as a baseline comparison.
In 2023, the UK has met its ERC and is compliant across all five key pollutants. PM2.5, which is most relevant to our industry, has a target of 30% reduction between 2020 and 2029. A reduction of 47% in comparison to 2005 was achieved in 2023, achieving another year of compliance (56 thousand tonnes of PM2.5 in 2023 compared to 105 thousand tonnes in 2005).
Bruce Allen, HETAS CEO, commented on the annual report’s findings:
The hard work of industry and our continued work with government, providing impartial, independent advice has helped the UK keep exceeding its reduction commitments and decrease annual levels of PM2.5.
“Defra’s annual statistics grant us the opportunity to examine our progress and highlight ways we can continue minimising our emissions. The most recent publication shows that our efforts have created significant results which we can continue to build on over time.
“A multitude of factors will have helped the UK achieve this decrease in particulate matter emissions. Technological advancement and innovation by appliance manufacturers has furthered progress. There are approval schemes promoting modern cleaner burning appliances – HETAS offers its Cleaner Choice Approval scheme where appliances can only register if they reduce particulate emissions by at least 50% more than smoke control area requirements. Other voluntary schemes exist in UK and abroad that allow manufacturers to demonstrate that successes to buyers and users. Appliance manufacturers are advancing appliance technologies further forward, achieving improvements the industry has never seen before.
“Another major initiative which so far affects only England, is the introduction of tighter controls on the most polluting fuels. Most significantly, there is now a ban on the sale of house coal. The only solid mineral-based fuels that can be legally sold are Ready to Burn manufactured fuels where emissions and sulphur content are strictly limited. The Ready to Burn scheme also applies to wood fuel, placing restrictions on the maximum moisture content. These schemes and the use of approved logos enable households to easily find the high-quality fuel their appliance needs.
“The efforts of HETAS and our registrants – as well as many other industry stakeholders – in increasing consumer outreach and raising awareness of the best burning practices has paid dividends, educating stove owners on the most efficient, least polluting ways of using their appliances to warm their homes.
“We await government’s revised Environmental Improvement Plan and welcome further meaningful changes that support the solid fuel industry and stove owners alike in our joint goal of minimising emissions as we work together towards a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable environment.
Continuing progress
We can continue to minimise emissions through promoting the most efficient appliances, high-quality fuels, professionally installed and maintained appliances, and the best burning practices.
The HETAS Cleaner Choice scheme signposts consumers to the appliances that have been independently verified as producing at least 50% less emissions than required in smoke control areas, with a particular focus on minimising particulate matter emissions.
Woodsure fuel quality assurance ensures that wood fuel is clean and sustainable, with all Woodsure suppliers going beyond legislated requirements to ensure the entire supply chain is sustainable and the fuel is high-quality.
The continued high-quality work of all HETAS registrants across the UK ensures that installations follow all relevant regulations, making sure that solid fuel appliances can be used safely and efficiently. Regular maintenance and the trusted advice that chimney sweeps and servicing technicians provide keep appliances working efficiently and helps to identify and rectify any issues that may arise through a product’s lifespan.
We here at https://www.countryheatdirect.co.uk keeping you regularly updated, empowering stove users to get the most from their stove and keep it in pristine condition – all while minimising their emissions.
By working together to combat the worst, most polluting burning practices, we can continue to reduce emissions and safely heat our homes.
Yes it can.
We care about the environment. We feel strongly about the environment and our common future. For many years, the manufacturers we use and recommend have been working intensely on environmentally friendly clean burning stoves for the benefit of the environment.
All the Stoves we supply have impressively high burning value many over 80 percent, so you get more out of your firewood, and polluting gases are burned off before leaving the chimney.
The stoves we sell are some of the most clean-burning stoves in Europe with unique fire chambers and air channels meaning that CO2 and harmful particles are reduced to an absolute minimum. They are all tested in accordance with all applicable regulations here in the UK and Europe with many being Defra Approved for Smokeless Zones.
https://www.countryheatdirect.co.uk/product-category/all-products/woodburning-multi-fuel-stoves/hunter/
At Countryheat, we’ve always believed that a stove is more than just a source of heat—it’s the heart of a home. Today, we’re thrilled to see this sentiment validated by the Stove Industry Association’s (SIA) newly released report, The Socioeconomic and Wellbeing Benefits of Stove Ownership and Use. Authored by Clean Stove Consultants Ltd, this comprehensive study highlights the profound ways stoves contribute to physical, emotional, and social well-being. Here, we explore some of the key findings and what they mean for our customers.
The Psychological and Physiological Perks of Stove Ownership
As the report reveals, the simple act of observing a flame can bring surprising health benefits. Stove users often report feelings of relaxation and reduced stress, while studies have shown that the flickering glow of a fire can lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of hypertension. In today’s fast-paced world, stoves provide a sanctuary of calm, a place to unwind and reconnect.
Economic and Energy Security Benefits
In an era of fluctuating energy prices, stoves offer a reliable and cost-effective heating solution. They provide households with greater energy security, especially during power outages or extreme weather events. At Countryheat, we’re proud to supply and install
Ecodesign-compliant stoves that deliver exceptional efficiency, helping our customers stay warm without breaking the bank.
Strengthening Social Bonds
A stove isn’t just functional; it’s a focal point that brings people together. The report highlights the role of stoves in fostering family interaction and creating a warm, inviting atmosphere—a concept beautifully encapsulated by the Scandinavian idea of “hygge.” At Countryheat, we’re inspired by this ethos and strive to supply products that make every home feel welcoming and harmonious.
Championing Modern Wood Burning
As part of the SIA’s #PositiveWoodBurning campaign, this report underscores the importance of modern wood-burning technologies and techniques. Modern stoves, like our Ecodesign models, release up to 90% fewer emissions than open fires and significantly less than older stoves. By choosing an Ecodesign-compliant appliance, you’re not just investing in warmth and comfort—you’re making a choice that’s kinder to the environment.
Tips for Getting the Most from Your Stove
To fully enjoy the benefits of stove ownership, the SIA recommends:
– Upgrading to an Ecodesign-compliant stove, such as our clearSkies-certified models.
– Using quality fuel that meets the Ready to Burn standard, ensuring wood logs have a moisture content of 20% or below.
– Ensuring your stove is installed by a qualified professional and serviced annually, along with regular chimney sweeping.
The Heart of Your Home
This report reaffirms what we at Countryheat have always known: a stove isn’t just a heat source; it’s a lifestyle choice that enhances well-being, strengthens family bonds, and offers energy independence. As we continue to supply and install some of the best stoves on the market that we have tried and tested ourselves, we remain committed to helping our customers create homes filled with warmth and joy.
Explore our range of modern, Ecodesign-compliant stoves and discover how they can transform your living space. Let’s embrace the benefits of positive wood burning for a healthier, happier home.
For more information about the SIA’s report and campaign, visit their website at www.stoveindustryassociation.org
With such bad weather as Storm Eowyn was followed by Storm Herminia here in the South West, with the Met Office issuing further weather warnings. We have had many of our customers requiring an early service and sweep of their wood burning stoves as they have been using their stoves this winter more than normal to keep warm as temperatures have dropped. If you would like your stove serviced and chimney swept please give us a call on 01392 811597 to get booked in.
We cannot afford to overlook the importance of being grid independent by using wood for heating and cooking.
We are so excited to be able to offer Klover Range Cookers whether wood or pellet fired both dry systems and boiler options.
Wood or pellet range cookers are so great for cooking give me lorraine a call on 01392 811597 for more information as I use a wood range cooker for all my cooking so I am able to offer you first hand advice.
