Schemes to lower carbon emissions, reduce the production of greenhouse gases, and cut the consumption of fossil fuels need to be better thought out says David Knox of Stovax.
The UK now has some of the most ambitious climate change targets in Europe based on reducing demand for fossil fuels and increasing efficiency to make the most of the fuel the nation uses.

However, the government set the target for 20% of our energy use to be renewable by 2020 first and commissioned people to advise on how to meet this afterwards, with no real focus on whether it is the right target.

This may explain why aviation fuel was not included, more open-cast coal mines are planned and there is a proposed (and heavily opposed) third runway at Heathrow. The focus on the production of electricity seems to ignore the fact that heating uses by far the greatest amount of energy in the home.

Although building regulations went some way to enforce installation of condensing boilers they ignore nearly five million old inefficient boilers still in use. They also overlook the fact that an efficient multi-fuel system (using half wood and half smokeless fuel) produces less CO2 than a gas condensing boiler. (source: SOLIFTEC)




The Low Carbon Buildings Scheme was notoriously complex and grants hard to get, focusing on solar panels and wood pellet boilers. These technologies are simply not being adopted with anything like the 50% increase in demand for wood-burning and multi-fuel stoves.

The Conservatives' proposals were unveiled as the 'Just Do It' scheme offering a £6,500 loan towards energy saving, repayable over 25 years. But there are concerns over which technologies would be included, given past 'micro-generation fetishisation', the minimal impact these technologies make and how the scheme would be administered.

Wood-burning stoves are 100% carbon neutral, renewable and sustainable and wood is the cheapest form of fuel. Using a stove in the lounge means the central heating can be turned off in that area. There are models that can run radiators, underfloor heating and provide ample hot water.

More tenants in social housing have found real difficulty affording heating bills and a retrofit programme to put multi-fuel stoves into houses with no gas would not only benefit those most in need, it would also magnify savings in CO2 and contribute towards climate change targets.

France and the US already have very simple schemes in place and have been far swifter to adopt renewables. France's Flamme Verte scheme offers a 40% tax rebate on the price of installing a wood-burning stove with efficiency greater than 70% and CO2 emissions less than 0.6%.

In America, The Woodstove Change Out programme offers a $250 rebate for replacing an older stove or for a new, certified woodburning or high efficiency gas appliance. Open-hearth fireplaces do not qualify and homeowners must have an existing freestanding wood burning stove manufactured before July 1990.

High efficiency technologies that make the most of fuel are already available and there is growing interest and demand. We should learn from other countries and devise a scheme to stimulate uptake of renewables that is simple to administer and easy to understand.

Let's hope that the new Department of Energy and Climate Change rolls out the proposed Renewable Heat Incentive sooner rather than later and focuses it on the right things.

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