Wood certified as Ready to Burn…

Since 1st May 2021, the government has been phasing out the sale of wet wood and promoting Ready to Burn requirements. This legislation forms part of the UK commitment in the Clean Air Strategy to reduce emissions of damaging air pollutants by 2030. So what are the Woodfuel Ready to Burn requirements and what does it mean?

The Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) appointed HETAS and Woodsure to run the Ready to Burn fuel certification scheme.

The scheme makes it easy for people to find the cleanest fuels for burning at home. Using fuels that are certified and labelled as Ready to Burn means it complies with Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020 that outlaw the sale of wet wood and house-coal – the most polluting fuels.

HETAS and Woodsure are non-profit organisations that support cleaner and safer choices for the use of biomass and other solid fuels, appliances and associated technologies.

Woodsure was granted around £22,000 by the government to run this first ever compulsory wood fuel certification scheme. The details, published by the Government, show the contract will last until 31 March 2024.

The Ready to Burn mark helps consumers easily identify solid fuels that are legal to burn at home in compliance with the new Air Quality Regulations. Applying the Ready to Burn mark to solid fuels is a big step forward in helping people to make safer and cleaner choices when it comes to domestic burning.

Wood certified as Ready to Burn has a guaranteed moisture content of 20% or less.

Ready to Burn wood means it’s been certified for immediate use. It burns better as it has a moisture content of less than 20%, and with less smoke than wetter wood. This helps reduce pollution and improve air quality.

The regulations aim to prevent harmful pollution from domestic burning of all solid fuels by ensuring wood sold in volumes of under 2m3 is certified as having a moisture content of 20% or less.

(The term fine particles, or particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5), refers to tiny particles or droplets in the air that are two and a half microns or less in width. Like inches, metres and miles, a micron is a unit of measurement for distance. There are about 25,000 microns in an inch.)

Briquettes vs logs and fossil fuels

It is important that once you have fitted a quality wood burning stove you use the correct wood to ensure an effective and environmentally friendly burn. Ideally the wood you use should be kiln dried, however, any log used must have a maximum moisture content of 20%.

The key element that makes wood burning stoves far more eco-friendly than gas or electric heaters, is the fuel itself. Wood is a carbon-neutral fuel which means it does not produce more carbon dioxide (CO2) than is already present in the carbon cycle.

Wood briquettes are much hotter, cleaner, longer-burning and more economical than traditional logs. This isn’t a subjective opinion; the impressiveness of briquettes comes down to pure physics.

Fire&Flame Heat Log briquettes meet the Woodfuel Ready to Burn Requirements. They have less than 10% moisture and carry the Ready to Burn certification badge.