Open Fires vs Woodburners: Why Homes in Bristol are Making the Switch
Have you been thinking about swapping your open fireplace for a woodburning stove? Here's why it's one of the best upgrades you can make for your wallet, your safety, and Bristol's air.
The bit most people don't know: it's illegal to burn wood on an open fire in Bristol
Most of Bristol sits inside a Smoke Control Area, designated under the Clean Air Act 1993. Inside these zones, it's an offence to burn wood on an open fire or in a stove that isn't DEFRA/Ecodesign exempt. On an open fire, you're only permitted to burn authorised smokeless fuels, like anthracite, not logs.
Get this wrong and you could be fined up to £1,000 for buying an unauthorised fuel to burn in a non-exempt appliance, or up to £300 for emitting smoke from your chimney.
A modern DEFRA/Ecodesign exempt woodburner changes this completely. Because it's been tested and certified to burn cleanly, it's legally allowed to burn wood, including our premium kiln dried Beech, Oak and Hornbeam, right here in Bristol. If you love the idea of a real wood fire rather than smokeless coal, a woodburner isn't just nicer, it's the only legal way to do it.
Efficiency: Your open fire is sending most of your heat up the chimney
An open fire looks and feels warm, but the numbers tell a different story. A traditional open fireplace converts roughly 20-25% of the wood's energy into usable heat. The rest, along with a lot of the warm air already in your room, disappears straight up the flue.
A modern Ecodesign woodburning stove is a different appliance entirely. Because the fire burns in an enclosed, insulated firebox with carefully controlled air, it typically reaches 75-85% efficiency. That means roughly three to four times more heat from the same burn.
| Factor | Open Fire | Modern Woodburning Stove |
|---|---|---|
| Typical efficiency | 20-25% | 75-85% |
| Legal to burn wood in Bristol | No (smokeless fuel only) | Yes, if DEFRA/Ecodesign exempt |
| Burn time (1-2 logs) | Around 15 minutes | Up to an hour |
| Particulate emissions | Baseline | Up to 90% lower |
| Heat control | None, fire does what it wants | Adjustable air controls |
| Room heat loss | Draws warm room air up chimney | Minimal, sealed firebox |
In practical terms, this means fewer logs to get through an evening, fewer deliveries to store, and a lot more heat for your money.
A cleaner burn for a cleaner Bristol
Because a woodburner controls the airflow around the fire so precisely, the wood burns hotter and more completely. That has a big knock on effect on emissions. Independent testing shows Ecodesign stoves produce up to 90% less particulate matter (PM) than an open fire burning the same wood.
For a city like Bristol, where air quality is an ongoing concern, that's a genuinely meaningful difference. It also means less smoke drifting into neighbouring gardens and less soot settling indoors.
Pairing a woodburner with our kiln dried firewood (typically 8-12% moisture, well under the 20% Ready to Burn threshold), you're burning about as cleanly and efficiently as possible at home.
Safety: an enclosed fire is a controlled fire
An open fire throws sparks, spits embers onto rugs and hearths, and gives curious children and pets direct access to a live flame. A woodburner sits behind glass, contained within a steel or cast iron firebox, so the fire stays exactly where it should.
Enclosed stoves also draw far more predictably, which reduces the risk of smoke or carbon monoxide spilling back into the room, something that's far more likely with an open chimney breast and poor draw. Combined with an annual chimney sweep and a carbon monoxide alarm, a woodburner is simply a safer appliance to have running in your home.
What this means for your fuel
Whichever stove you choose, the appliance is only half the story. Even the most efficient woodburner will underperform, and produce more smoke and creosote, if it's fed wet or unseasoned wood. When purchasing firewood, look for the Ready to Burn certification, which guarantees moisture content below 20%.
Our kiln dried Beech, Oak and Hornbeam are all Ready to Burn certified and sit well below that threshold. Better fuel means a much more efficient burn, lower maintenance and fuel costs, and a stove that keeps performing the way it's supposed to.
Don't forget the chimney
Installing a new woodburner is also the ideal moment to book a chimney sweep. Your flue needs to be swept and checked before a new stove goes in, and a HETAS registered installer will usually ask for proof of this as standard. It's also important to have your chimney swept annually afterwards, to keep that new efficiency and airflow performing as it should.
Conclusion
If you're weighing up whether to upgrade from an open fire to a woodburner, the case is a strong one. It's the only way to legally burn wood at home in most of Bristol, it puts three to four times more heat into your room from the same log, it cuts particulate emissions by up to 90%, and it's a genuinely safer appliance to run.
Pair your new stove with our premium kiln dried firewood and get your flue swept and checked annually to ensure the safety and longevity of your woodburner.