9:14am Friday 23rd March 2007
By Rebecca Peppiatt
JASON Scarlett is an entrepreneur with a difference.
As one of the last registered solid fuel and chimney engineers in Essex, he is pioneering a unique project that will reduce our impact on the environment in more ways than one.
Jason, 35, from Southend, has spent 15 years supplying, installing and servicing real coal fires in people's homes, but this form of heating is dying out.
"People have started to realise that coal is a fossil fuel and burning it unlocks carbon that's bad for the environment," explained Jason.
"But wood is cheaper and it's also green to burn - it's totally carbon neutral."
After extensive research, Jason started looking into the wood-burning stove and discovered it's possibly one of the most environmentally friendly and efficient forms of heating there is.
By connecting a wood burning stove to the boiler or central heating, a whole house can be heated on logs alone. This will cut carbon emissions by 100 per cent and will also save money on heating bills.
There are also Government grants available for installation on some types of stove. Contact the Low Carbon Buildings Programme on 0800 915 0990 for more information.
Jason now sells, installs and services wood-burning stoves from his showroom in London Road, Southend.
If your house was built before 1965 then a wood-burning stove will cost around £2,000 to be installed, which includes the lining of your chimney etc.
The cost is reduced to just £1,000 if the property was built after then. But Jason claims it is a worthwhile investment because it's very likely that a wood burning stove will increase your house value.
Jason's customers are drawn to the idea by the benefits to the environment, as well as its cost efficiency.
"If you're only running one wood-burning stove, you will use around a ton of wood which will cost anything between £120 and £280," says Jason.
"If you want to heat your whole house, however, you are more likely to use around three tons of wood throughout the winter."
It's not just by promoting the benefits of wood-burning stoves that Jason is doing his bit as an eco-warrior. He also supplies locally-sourced wood to his customers that has been coppiced to help the environment.
"The idea of coppicing is that the trees get cut back every five to ten years," he explained. "It's good for the land - it promotes new growth because it is cut at the base and then out of that lots of shoots grow. It means the trees will last longer."
Coppicing has been taking place at woods, such as Hockley and Belfairs, since the Eighties, although it's an ancient practice. Jason is also trying to set up contracts locally so that fallen trees can be burnt in wood-burning stoves.
"What we're also trying to set up is a truck running on bio-diesel so that we can take the wood straight to your house," explained Jason.
Jason's passion for environmental issues is the driving force behind Scarlett Fireplaces.
"I'm desperately trying to get across how serious this is," he said.
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