IMPORTANT THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU BUY A STOVE FOR A NEW BUILD

Once you've decided that you want a wood burner and you have a rough idea of where you would like it positioned in the new build then this is probably the ideal time to talk to your stove dealer – bring your plans if you can. They'll be able to quickly tell you if your idea is feasible, whether there's a better, possibly more practical and cost-effective alternative to position and flue the stove, and what type of stove will best suit you and your lifestyle, especially in terms of heat output for the proposed living space.

• Smoke Control Areas and DEFRA Approved Stoves.  If your new build is located in a designated smoke control area (most UK urban areas) then your stove must first and foremost be a DEFRA Smoke Exempted Appliance (aka DEFRA Approved) which is approved to burn seasoned wood logs and has been designed to reduce the amount of smoke it can produce when turned down. Turning down a stove starves the fuel of vital combustion air which will create the incomplete combustion that causes smoke and air pollution. With a Defra approved stove this is not possible providing you burn fully seasoned wood logs.

• Multi-fuel Stoves that burn both wood and fossil fuels (whether smokeless or not) are a dying breed (for obvious reasons) and do not provide you with the same SAP benefits as a wood only stove. Unless you're used to storing and burning coal (which tends to be generational in our experience) then our advice is to opt for a wood burner as wood fuel, unlike fossil fuels such as coal, is sustainable.

• Heat output range.  A wide controllable heat output range means that the stove will be much more practical since it can be used for most of the year when full heat output is not necessarily required. When you want it the stove will still deliver much needed quick bursts of generous back-up heat, especially in the depths of winter when perhaps heat pumps can be slow off the mark. See our section on choosing the correct heat output.
• Radiant or convector stove. This essentially means the choice between a stove set within a fireplace (radiant) or free-standing (convector). Radiant stoves generally require much greater distances to combustible materials compared to convector stoves as they use the extreme heat from the bodywork and for this reason it is always safer to contain a radiant stove within a fireplace opening, especially in smaller living spaces. Convector stoves, by their very nature need to be in the open to efficiently move the warm air around the living space by heating it as it moves up through channels between the stove bodywork side panels and the concealed fire chamber walls. This makes the side walls cooler than on radiant stoves and consequently helps significantly reduce the safe distances to combustible materials so that you get more safe usable floor space around the stove. Of course a convector stove will still work in a fireplace opening and a radiant stove will still work when it's free-standing, but it's not always the best way to use them.
• Direct External Air Supply (DEAS) When considering a stove for a new build property it must have direct external air supply capability. This ensures that the stove will only take its combustion air supply from outside the building so that air permeability won't be affected by having to install the Technical Booklet L permanently open air vent. See our section on DEAS here
• DIBt tested room seal.  Again, this or something very close to it, is essential for maintaining the new build's air permeabilty. There's no point in having a stove with DEAS if the door seal can potentially leak. Stoves that have undergone the strict DIBt test ensure that the room seal is virtually 100% and is your best guarantee of safety especially for a passive house or one with MVHR. It is worth noting that many good quality stoves could meet the DIBt standard but that their manufacturers have simply decided to avoid this expensive optional German test. See our section on DIBt here
• Efficiency Efficient stoves can save money in the long run and are good for the SAP calculation. However there are very few really inefficient stoves nowadays so our view is not to get too side-tracked with every efficiency percentage point but, all things considered, to chose a stove that you like and that you're going to enjoy looking at every day and then of course, one that's right for its intended use.
• Emissions Modern Ecodesign low carbon wood burning stoves produce 80% less PM2.5 than an old non-Ecodesign stove and 90% less than an open fire. However, if you want to go that bit further for the environment and minimise your impact on air quality then we suggest you investigate the new clearSkies quality mark which will help you find the stoves with the very lowest emissions (Level 5). This is a voluntary scheme so not all models or manufacturers will be represented but the number of stoves listed is growing all of the time so it will still be a very good starting point. www.clearskiesmark.org
• Distances to combustible materials. Tested distances vary from stove to stove and must always be considered especially if space is going to be tight. Remember that convector stoves (usually the tall ones) generally have considerably less safe distance requirements than radiant stoves and can help minimise the visual impact and cost of heat shielding required to protect timber framed walls.
• Boiler Stoves. Despite the limitations imposed on boiler stoves by the tough 2022 Ecodesign emissions limits wood burning boiler stoves can still have an important role to play in low carbon homes especially if you have access to a cheap or free supply of suitable logs. Check out Firepower's range of low emissions Ecodesign boiler stoves here as well as the separate section on Boiler Stoves in new builds here
• Heat Storage Stoves. These are a brilliant new solution for low energy homes that are really worth considering. These use part of their heat output to warm concealed heat storage stones above the fire chamber, thus reducing the heat to the room, which is then slowly released from the stones when the fire begins to die down. These elegantly tall stoves not only make a strong visual statement in a space without compromising on real flames but are also highly practical. They essentially even out the heat peaks and troughs associated with regular wood burning stoves to give you a longer-lasting comfortable and continuous heat which makes them an ideal choice for highly insulated homes where even less heat will go a very long way. For Further information on Heat Storage Stoves click here.
• Looks and style.  Even when all of the above factors have been considered there should still be a wide choice of stoves available from traditional, classic or contemporary designs made by some exceptional manufacturers. At The Stove Yard we have more live burning examples than most stove dealers as well as one of the largest choices so there really will be a stove to suit every budget. Don't forget to bring along your plans.

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