The Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968 were introduced to deal with the smogs of the 1950s and 1960s which were caused by the widespread burning of coal for domestic heating and by industry. These smogs were blamed for the premature deaths of hundreds of people in the UK. The Acts gave local authorities powers to control emissions of dark smoke, grit, dust and fumes from industrial premises and furnaces and to declare “smoke control areas” in which emissions of smoke from domestic properties are banned. Since then, smoke control areas have been introduced in many of our large towns and cities in the UK and in large parts of the Midlands, North West, South Yorkshire, North East of England, Central and Southern Scotland. The implementation of smoke control areas, the increased popularity of natural gas and the changes in the industrial and economic structure of the UK lead to a substantial reduction in concentrations of smoke and associated levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2) between the 1950s and the present day.

Smoke Exempt Appliances

When burning in a smoke control zone you either have to burn approved smokeless coal or have a smoke exempt appliance for burning wood. Smoke exempt appliances simply burn efficiently enough to meet the strict government standards for burning in a smoke control zone, appliances are tested for this standard by DEFRA.

DEFRA is the government body responsible for testing and approving solid fuelled heating appliances for use in smoke control zones.

Most Broseley multifuel and woodburning stoves can be installation in a Smoke Control Area but may burn only authorised smokeless coals. A list of approved smokeless fuels can be found on the DEFRA website. http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/

Logs may only be burned in stoves which have been granted exemption from the regulations by the government through DEFRA.

Please see below our selection of Smoke Exempt stoves