Recently, you were visiting friends, and as the night grew colder outside, you were snug indoors, mesmerized by the warmth and glow of their wood stove. "Let's get one!" you exclaimed to your family.

Wood-burning stoves have become a classic British middle class status symbol. Despite the fact that they cost around £3,000 to buy and install, an estimated 1.9 million people in Britain now have one ...