As an Edinburgh-based company we are constantly restricted by Defra approval, on the stove side and the biomass boiler side alike. So what is it?
What Defra exemption is
Defra is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Its exemption list names appliances that have been tested — at great expense to the manufacturer or importer — and shown to produce limited pollution, and which may therefore be used in a smoke control area, such as most of Edinburgh.
In our experience most European manufacturers would pass easily. But the testing is expensive, especially for a manufacturer with a large range, or one that already holds another country's certification, such as the Nordic Ecolabel. Manufacturers whose appliances do not pass usually alter the air controls — putting a stop on the air intake, for instance, so that it cannot be fully closed.
What it means for an installation
This is why we, as installers, find ourselves telling customers that they cannot have one particular product but can have another. Sometimes the customer, with their heart set on a specific appliance, decides it is too much hassle. When this was written, Scotland had not adopted the HETAS competent persons scheme, so a building warrant — and its fee — was needed as well, and it was fair to ask whether that expense made an installation any safer.
Is it worth the paper?
Bearing in mind that nobody is watching what you actually burn, it is an attempt, at least. A cheaper system would be welcome — one where every appliance could be checked at much lower cost, so that most manufacturers and importers could sell into smoke control areas, some with small alterations to comply.
Exemptions differ between parts of the UK, so check the list for your own area on the Defra website. And remember that an exempt appliance is only as clean as the fuel in it: see our guide to firewood.
