Through the roof – wood burning stove sales up 40%

Recent figures released by the Stove Industry Alliance (SIA) reveal sales of wood burning stoves have shot up by 40% over the past year.

The SIA – which is a trade association of stove manufacturers, distributors and retailers, wood fuel suppliers and other interested industry bodies – collated the data from its manufacturing members, which make up 75% of total UK stove sales.

The uptake in log burner sales has not gone unnoticed within our region. Thorney-based chimney sweep Graham Flood has seen a considerable upsurge in demand across the Peterborough area:

“There’s such an increase at the moment,” he said, “we have probably seen at least 60 new customers a month. My niece has been working Saturdays since [the] beginning of October to help.”

Describing the past six months as “manic”, Mr Flood agreed with the SIA’s conclusions that people are worried about rising heating costs:

“When people speak to you, they’re interested in getting a stove put in because of prices going up.”

However, the 53-year-old chimney sweep suggested consumers are likely to have additional concerns lurking at the back of their mind. He added:

“They want this as an alternative, just in case we have power cuts.”

Graham, who has been installing stoves for nearly five years, told the Peterborough Telegraph that log burners aren’t the only alternative heating source people are looking into:

“We’re hearing from people, they’ve got an open fire that’s never been used and they want us to come and check it. They plan to start using it so that they don’t have to put the electric or heating on.”

With the clocks due to go back at the end of the month, Graham observed that there isn’t likely to be any let up in demand, for him or his colleagues in the industry:

“A lot of sweeps are booked up now until January”, he said: “It’s just crazy.”

Consumers are looking for alternatives

The SIA believes the 40% increase – in what is normally a quieter sales period for the industry – shows consumers are keen to capitalise on the perceived benefits of using wood burning stoves to heat their homes.

Chair of the SIA, Andy Hill, noted:

“With the cost for heating our homes accounting for the biggest chunk of home energy bills this winter, it is little wonder consumers are looking for alternatives to supplement their gas or electric heating.”

The increase in sales flew in the face of fears some people have had about wood burning stoves being ‘banned’. It is indeed true that, since 1 January 2022, it is now illegal to manufacture and sell new stoves that do not comply with a European directive on air pollution and particulate emissions, known as Ecodesign.

As well as being entirely legal, stoves that adhere to the Ecodesign requirements can actually help improve overall air quality.

Mr Hill explained:

“A modern, Ecodesign wood burning stove will emit up to 90% less PM [particulate matter] emissions than an open fire, and up to 80% less than a large number of older stoves.”