Wood stoves heat up in UK as households hedge against soaring costs

MANCHESTER, England (CN) — Wood-burning stoves are making a comeback in Britain as people look for cheaper or backup heating amid high energy prices and global energy uncertainty.

About one in 10 U.K. households now has a wood-burning stove, according to housing data showing the share rising from roughly 9.4% in 2022 to about 10.3% today.

Many homeowners say they want a heat source that does not rely on gas or electricity, a concern exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and likely to grow if the U.S.-Israel war on Iran pushes global energy prices higher.

The U.K. already has some of the most expensive household energy costs in Europe, with electricity prices 23% above the EU average in the first half of 2025.

In the U.K., most homes rely on gas-fired central heating systems connected to a national grid, a system different from the U.S., where natural gas heating is more varied.

The shift to the stove highlights how energy insecurity is changing behavior in British homes.

Some households see stoves as a way to gain more control over heating and reduce reliance on the grid during cold spells, yet it’s fueling a debate over air pollution and public health.

Government emissions data show domestic burning is a major source of PM2.5, tiny particles the World Health Organization says pose the greatest risk to human health.

The WHO classifies outdoor PM2.5 pollution as carcinogenic and linked to lung cancer and other diseases.

A 2020 review published in Lancet Global Health also linked indoor air pollution, including wood burning, to heart and lung disease, lung cancer, strokes, stillbirth and asthma.

Popularity builds on decadesold shift

James Allan, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Manchester and researcher with the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, said the current increase builds on a gradual shift that began decades ago, when properties were converted to central heating as part of the effort to phase out coal.

“This sustained increase in popularity is partly because burning wood is seen by many as more sustainable than natural gas, which heats the majority of homes in the U.K., but there’s also a lifestyle element to it, with a prominent wood fire in a living room being seen as cozy.”

In contrast to many European countries, where a wood-fired stove or pellet burner would power a central heating system, “the overwhelming number of homes with wood burners use it as a secondary source of heat, so it would be confined to a single room of the house,” Allan said.

“The effect this is having on air quality is something of a complex picture. While wood burning has increased in popularity, the quality of the appliances and the fuels has also increased, so while a traditional mid-20th-century home in the U.K. would use an open grate for burning wood or coal, new stoves comply with Ecodesign rules and are much less polluting, although still not completely clean.”

According to government data, new Ecodesign stoves emit 450 times more toxic air pollution than gas heating, while older stoves produce 3,700 times more.

Multiple governments have tightened rules on wood burning in recent years to reduce the amount of PM2.5s wood burners were allowed to emit.

In 2022, it became illegal to sell new stoves that do not meet stricter limits on particulate matter. Only stoves that meet stricter Ecodesign emission standards can be sold.

In 2023, the sale of traditional house coal and wet wood for domestic heating was banned in England.

The government is considering health warnings for new stoves.

The measures apply to smoke control areas, which cover most towns and cities in England, where local authorities can issue on-the-spot fines for violations.

Despite these new powers, actual enforcement is rare.

Data obtained through freedom of information requests by campaign group Mums for Lungs shows a gap between complaints and actual penalties.

Between 2024 and 2025, local authorities received 15,195 complaints about domestic wood burning, resulting in 24 fines.

Allan said while there have been major drives to encourage people to not use more polluting sources like coal and wet wood, “because people are burning these in private homes, it’s difficult to get a handle on exactly how much of what is being burned and where, which hampers efforts.”

He added that current laws are inconsistently applied in individual local areas.

Industry says modern stoves are cleaner

Erica Malkin, executive director of the Stove Industry Association, said demand has been driven partly by people seeking more control over heating.

“Many households are looking for greater control over their energy use, particularly in response to rising and volatile energy costs. A modern stove can provide a reliable secondary heat source, helping to reduce reliance on the grid at peak times and offering resilience during power outages,” Malkin said.

“Today’s Ecodesign-compliant stoves are significantly more efficient than older models and open fires, and when used with dry wood fuel and correct operation, emissions are greatly reduced,” she said.

The issue has also sparked tensions with local authorities.

Legal tensions grow over clean air campaigns

Freedom of information requests by the BMJ, a British medical journal, found just under a third of councils in England with the highest concentration of wood-burning stoves had been threatened with legal action or lobbied by the Stove Industry Association over public health campaigns warning about wood smoke.

The trade body said it had not taken legal action but had raised concerns about how some campaigns were presented.

“In 2023, we wrote to a small number of councils regarding a specific campaign where we believed the messaging did not clearly distinguish between open fires, older appliances and modern Ecodesign-compliant stoves,” said Malkin. “Our aim was to ensure that public information is accurate, proportionate and reflects the significant improvements in appliance performance and emissions over recent years.”

Despite the debate, many homeowners say stoves remain popular as a practical and lifestyle choice.

Daz, a longtime stove user, said online: “I’ve had wood burners for 20 years. I just love them,” adding he prefers them to other energy sources.

Others view the trend differently. Danny, a tree surgeon in Manchester, sees the increase in wood-burning stoves as a return to the norm after coal and gas became major sources.

“A fire is thousands of years old. Gas has significant effects on the planet,” he said, adding, “no one’s starting any wars over wood!”

Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.

Follow @jayfranklinlive