What does Defra Approved mean?

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What is Defra?

Defra is a government department that is solely responsible for managing any legislation regarding smoke control areas. They compile a definitive list of approved wood burning stoves and multi-fuel stoves that comply with their legislation. Defra is an acronym for Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

Why do we need Defra?

Back in the 1950's and 1960's, there were no smoke control areas and residential homes and businesses could burn any fuels and as much as they liked. This resulted in a large amount of smog in towns and cities across the UK which in turn caused health issues for the population.

The government knew they needed to act, so they introduced the Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968. This gave local authorities the power to create Smoke Control Areas which meant residential homes could not create smoke emissions within these areas.

What is Defra Approved?

Since the Clean Air Acts were introduced, many residential homes switched to gas as a form of clean fuel. However, over the years, many people wanted to switch back to wood burning or multi-fuel stoves for numerous reasons including for cost-savings and also lifestyle choices.

Therefore Defra introduced a testing and approval schemes for stoves to allow them to burn disallowed fuels in a smoke control area.

This enabled residential homes in Smoke Controlled Areas to either purchase a Defra stove or purchase a standard stove but only burn smokeless fuels.

Are Defra stoves more expensive?

The simple answer is yes, and there are many reasons for this.

Most manufacturers will sell the same stove in Defra and non-Defra approved models. if you were to compare a Defra stove to a standard stove, there appears to be no difference.

However, the Defra approved stove will have many modifications to produce cleaner air and also been through stringent tests to ensure it meets the Clean Air Acts. This is why they are more expensive.

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defra-VERMONT INTREPID II CATALYTIC WOODBURNING STOVE

Defra Stoves at Bowland Stoves

At Bowland Stoves, we have a comprehensive range of Defra approved stoves which are available in many styles.

So if you're looking for a contemporary, traditional or inset Defra approved stove, then browse our comprehensive selection online.