Sensational stoves

Wendron Stoves has been selling and installing stoves around Cornwall for generations.

Current Wendron Stoves owner, Nathan Ward, has been selling and installing wood-burning stoves for 35 years. He picked up the trade from his Dad, Maurice Ward, who would take him along to fabrication shops and foundries as a child, so it’s fair to say that Nathan was brought up alongside the business.

“designed to reduce carbon emissions, ensuring that air quality is maintained”

Around 35 years ago Nathan took over the company, making the transition from manufacturing to retail. After trading from the village of Wendron since 1981 the company made the move to Water-ma-Trout industrial estate in Helston in 2015 and has recently opened a second showroom on Truro’s Quay Street. On display in the showrooms you’ll find an extensive range of British and European stoves, including Chesneys, Chilli Penguin, Hwam, Hase, Spatherm, Jotul, Scan and Focus, together with fireplaces and Everhot heat storage range cookers.

Since Nathan began learning the tricks of the trade, various technological advancements over the years have allowed stoves to become more efficient. Nowadays, there’s a tangible desire from consumers for stoves to fit into modern and contemporary architecture. Consequently, modern stoves could well be mistaken for works of art. There is also a desire from governing bodies for stoves to burn fuel as efficiently as possible to prevent so many particulates entering the atmosphere. Luckily, Nathan sits on committees with the Stove Industry Alliance (SIA) and Hetas – the solid fuel and safety standards organisation, through which he helped to update the installation guidance and standard for solid fuel appliances and chimneys. Nathan’s participation with these organisations allows him to stay up to date with the latest information concerning stove developments, such as the need for more eco-friendly and low carbon emitting designs.

With an ever-increasing concern surrounding carbon emissions, the biggest challenge that the stove industry faces at the moment revolves around whether they are eco-friendly or not. Thankfully, with technological advancements, stoves built after 2010 are generally specially designed to reduce carbon emissions, ensuring that air quality is maintained.

In January 2019, following a survey of 1,206 members of the public who use solid fuel to heat their homes, the UK Clean Air Strategy suggested the increase in burning solid fuels such as wood and coal in our homes is the largest contributor to national particulate emissions at 38%. However, the SIA disputed this figure; having conducted its own user survey of 10,620 wood stove owners, using the same questions and methodology as applied to the original survey, it placed the figure nearer to 15%. The SIA user survey also found that more than 27% of appliances emitting the most particulate matter were open fires or stoves over 10 years old, using less efficient technology than their modern equivalent and accounting for over half of the UK’s annual wood fuel consumption. By replacing these models with the latest Ecodesign ready stoves – which have been tailor made to meet the 2022 European requirements – stove owners could reduce emissions by almost 45% and take wood-burning particulate matter emissions down to 8%.

So, if you want to install a wood-burning stove, but are conscious of your carbon footprint, then make sure to choose a new eco-design model. Equally, if you have a wood-burning stove in your home or business that’s 10 years old or over, it may be time to consider replacing it with a newer, more environmentally friendly model.

Today, Wendron Stoves employs 21 full and part time staff across sales, administration, installation and servicing of wood, biomass and solar thermal heating systems. These include Nathan’s daughters Ashley and Molly – the third generation of Wards to join the family business. Ashley manages the Truro showroom, and Molly is a Biomass Service Engineer, so you know you’ll get a personal service from start to finish from experts in the trade. To find out more, make sure to get in touch and discover how you can install aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly heating solutions this year.

WENDRON STOVES LTD

01326 572878 (Helston)

01872 520010 (Truro)

www.wendronstoves.co.uk