Why Blog about Woodsure, Ready to Burn and Thatch?
Part of our Thatch Fire Safety message includes the burning of quality dry wood in order to reduce the risks of sparks and/or tarring of chimneys and chimney fires. The new HETAS Woodsure Ready to Burn initiative is therefore of interest to us all.
As a wholly owned subsidiary of HETAS we understand it also has the backing of Defra and the Stove Industry Alliance. This also fits in with Defras clean air initiative.
Understanding the scheme and how it could help those of us who live in thatch and burn sustainable solid wood fuel is important. Woodsure and Ready to Burn started this year and so we have contacted them with some questions which they have kindly answered. Our questions were:-
What is Woodsure?
What is Ready to Burn?
How will this help thatched property owners who burn wood fuel?
What is Woodsure?
“Woodsure, a not for profit organisation, is the UK’s only woodfuel accreditation scheme striving to raise the quality of woodfuel. The scheme covers certification for firewood, briquettes, pellets, chip, and hog.
Suppliers signed up to the Woodsure scheme are subject to product sample analysis in accordance with British/European standards and an onsite audit of their processes. Suppliers are also required to demonstrate the legality of the woodfuel they supply.”
What is Ready to Burn?
“Most recently Woodsure has introduced the Ready to Burn initiative for firewood and briquettes. The initiative is designed to make it easier for consumers to find firewood that is no more than 20% moisture content and essentially ready to burn.”
Look for the Woodsure Ready to Burn Logo
How will this help thatched property owners who burn wood fuel?
“Burning wet wood is inefficient as it demands a lot of heat to boil off the water before the appliance can give out the proper level of heat to the room, hot water or heating systems. In turn, this creates a lot of smoke which damages the chimney and blackens the appliance and contributes to air pollution. Dry wood that has been properly sourced and seasoned means it produces fewer particulates, more heat efficiency and less maintenance – chimneys are less likely to block and will remain easier to sweep.”
So this confirms our points made that what and how you burn is so important.
Thanks to Woodsure for this information and we hope that by #workingtogether we can keep improving the thatch fire safety message.
Understanding Woodsure ready to burn
Our aim is to provide you with the information to make the best decisions you can for your individual thatched property because, we know, many many people use open fires and woodburners very successfully. Risk reduction is also very important for insurance. Sadly thatch fires are hard to extinguish so we want to reduce the risks and chances of them starting in the first place. Our making people aware of how Woodsure and Ready to Burn can be part of that process is important.
Understand your options, be aware, take care and enjoy your thatched property.
Woodsure Ready to Burn and Thatch Fire Safety #Workingtogether
As with all new schemes, Woodsure may take a while to get off the ground and become established. We welcome all things which have the potential to improve thatch fire safety and burning good wood is one of them.
Don’t forget though that:-
- Care when lighting and refuelling
- Not over-venting
- Burning per stove manufactures instructions
- Regular sweeping of chimneys
are also an important part of the Thatch Fire Safety message. This is included in our updated Thatch Fire Safety leaflet. How you store your wood and checking the moisture content are also important.
We look forward to seeing how the Woodsure and Ready to Burn scheme works over this first burning season and beyond.