Ecodesign Stoves

Buying guide

Ecodesign is the reason a new stove burns so much cleaner than one from twenty years ago. It is not something you need to apply for or register, but it is worth understanding what it does and does not tell you before you buy.

What does Ecodesign mean?

Ecodesign is a set of minimum standards for products that use energy. For solid fuel stoves (local space heaters), the rules have applied in Great Britain since 1 January 2022: a wood or multi-fuel stove placed on the market from that date must meet limits on emissions and a minimum seasonal efficiency.

For a closed stove burning wood, HETAS sets the limits out as:

There is also a limit for organic gaseous carbon of 120mg/m³. In practice, Ecodesign stoves achieve this with better control of air, secondary and tertiary air above the fire, and insulated fireboxes that keep combustion temperatures up.

Ecodesign or smoke control exempt?

A stove can be Ecodesign without being exempt: the standard versions of the Opus wood stoves we list are Ecodesign but not exempt (SE versions of the Trio LS and Melody are available on those listings). If you live in a smoke control area and want to burn wood, you need both.

SIA Ecodesign Ready and ClearSkies

Before 2022, the Stove Industry Alliance ran the SIA Ecodesign Ready label so buyers could spot stoves that already met the coming limits; you will still see it on many listings, including the FDC Eco stoves. ClearSkies is a separate certification scheme that grades stoves by emissions, and the FDC Eco stoves carry ClearSkies Level 5. Both are useful signals, but the key question for a new stove is simply whether it meets Ecodesign.

Ecodesign stoves by size

The efficiency figures in brackets are the makers' own. Higher efficiency means more of the wood's energy reaches the room (or the water, for a boiler stove), so you burn fewer logs for the same warmth. Boiler stoves tend to score well because the water jacket captures heat that would otherwise go up the flue. The Ecodesign label tells you the stove has passed the minimum; the efficiency figure tells you how far beyond it the stove goes.

What is changing next?

Today, a stove on Defra's list of appliances exempt for smoke control areas in England may emit no more than 5g of smoke per hour, plus 0.1g for every 0.3kW of output. In January 2026 the UK Government and the devolved administrations opened a consultation on domestic solid fuel burning, which closed on 19 March 2026. It proposed a tighter smoke limit for new stoves, with a lead-in period of three to five years, along with emissions labels on new stoves and health labels on fuel. The proposals are for stoves placed on the market in future. Reports of the consultation are clear that stoves already in homes would not be banned, and the Government has said that wood burning stoves will remain permitted as secondary heating in new homes in England.

The outcome of the consultation is still awaited. Buying an efficient Ecodesign stove now, sized to the room and run on dry wood, is still the best way to keep emissions down. Our explainer are wood burners being banned? tracks the detail.

Getting the best from an Ecodesign stove

An Ecodesign stove only performs as tested if it is sized and run properly.

• Size it right. About 1kW per 14 cubic metres. An oversized stove gets choked down and smoulders. See stove sizing.
• Burn dry wood. Under 20% moisture, ideally Ready to Burn certified. See our firewood guide.
• Light it hot. Use the top-down method with all air open, then turn down to a steady flame. See how to light a log burner.
• Keep it serviced. Worn rope seals and a sagging baffle let air in where it should not go.