15
THE CLEAN AIR ACT 1993 AND SMOKE CONTROL AREAS
Under the Clean Air Act, local authorities may declare the whole or part of the district of the authority to be a
smoke control area. It is an offence to emit smoke from a chimney of a building, from a furnace or from any fixed
boiler if located in a designated smoke control area.
It is also an offence to acquire an “unauthorised fuel” for use within a smoke control area unless it is for use in
an “exempt” appliance (“exempted from the controls which generally apply in the smoke control area).
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has powers under the Act to authorise smoke-
less fuels or exempt appliances for use in smoke control areas in England. In Scotland and Wales this power
rests with Ministers in the devolved administrations for those countries. Separate legislation, the Clean Air
(Northern Ireland) Order1981, applies in Northern Ireland. Therefore it is a requirement that fuels burnt or ob-
tained for use in smoke control areas have been authorised in Regulations and that appliances used to burn
solid fuel in those areas (other than “authorised” fuels) have been exempted by an Order made and signed by
the Secretary of State or Minister in the devolved administrations.
Further information on the requirements of the Clean Air Act can be found here:
http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/
Your local authority is responsible for implementing the Clean Air Act 1993 including designation and supervi-
sion of smoke control areas and you can contact them for details of Clean Air Act requirements.
RECOMMENDED FUELS
The Firebright when modified to fix the secondary air rotating plate 5mm open in it’s fully closed posi-
tion, has been recommended as suitable for use in smoke controlled areas when burning Smokeless
fuel or dry wood.
Dry wood means that it has not more than 20% moisture content
. If these operating instructions are fol-
lowed correctly no significant smoke will be produced. Burning wet ( >20% moisture content ) wood and operat-
ing the stove in an irresponsible manner may produce smoke which is illegal in smoke controlled areas.
Wood to be used as a fuel should be logged, chopped and
stored in a sheltered but airy site
for an absolute
minimum of 12 months and
preferably 24 months
. Wood naturally dries at the rate of 1" per year so a 12"
round will take 6 years to dry to the centre.
Do not be tempted to stack wet wood on or
around the stove
believing this will dry the sap out of the wood. A 12" log takes approx 8 weeks in a kiln to dry to 18% moisture
and doing so carries a high Fire risk
Freshly cut green wood
- i.e. wood that still has sap in it -
is dangerous
to burn.
It will cause a chimney to choke with wood tar in a few weeks with a grave risk of a chimney fire result-
ing. In any case,
burning sap wet wood is pointless
. It produces far less heat, maybe as little as 10% of that
of dry wood. Wood burns best on a bed of ash so do be careful to retain some when de-ashing.
Do not burn treated wood and assume that any bought in wood
is wet unless its history is known.
Tar
is caused by burning wet wood. It is brown/black in colour and may be liquid. It has an offensive smell. On
the sides of the stove, flue and chimney it resembles a black sticky 'chewing gum' and can eventually block the
flue ways. When it ignites, it can cause a chimney fire and be highly dangerous.
Please note that HETAS Ltd Appliance Approval only covers the use of the above fuels on these appliances.
HETAS Ltd Approval does not cover the use of other fuels either alone or mixed with the recommended fuels
listed above, nor does it cover instructions for the use of other fuels.
Never spray aerosols near the stove when it is alight as an explosion could occur if flammable vapours or gases
come into contact with naked flames.
Summary of Contents for Firebright Inset
Page 24: ...24 01 06 13 Version INSSE...
