Range-style stoves in the sustainable home
Aga are possibly the “Hoover” of range-style cookers. They started making them in 1948 and have been producing solid, cast iron cookers for the country home every since. They now manufacture the Rayburn and Rangemaster ranges as well and, together with Heritage and Lacanche, their attractiveness is fairly obvious. They have a size and scale that few other cookers can deliver, they demonstrate a certain status and their price alone puts them firmly in the “luxury” bracket. They can provide cooking, heating and hot water in a single package and are the warm beating heart of a country home.
But are they sustainable? What are the issues for the eco-conscious self builder? The answer has to come in 2 parts; the machine itself and its fuel efficiency.
Cast Iron Technology
Range-style cookers, by which we include Aga, Rayburn, Heritage, Lacanche and the like, are all made principally from cast iron, which is a highly sustainable material. Apart from there being a lot of iron in the world, it requires relatively little energy to process and is highly recyclable. Rayburn advertise that their products contain 70% recycled material – which sounds a lot but is far from uncommon for cast iron products. In most cases this type of appliance is 100% recyclable.
Cast iron technology also offers a long-life. They are advertised as “lasting a lifetime” and it is probably quite easy to think of examples of range-style stoves that Grandma had installed. Long life, low maintenance, low energy materials are exactly what sustainability is all about.
Unsustainable Fuels
Range-style stoves can run on the full range of available fuels; electricity, natural gas, propane, butane, gas-oil, coal, wood, and even bio-diesel. The electrically powered models look very convenient but have a truly horrific CO2 output. Grid electricity is about 23% efficient (that is, only 23% of the energy entering the power station is delivered to the home). The appliance itself can range from about 64% efficient, rising to 82% or even 90%. But at best just 20% of the energy entering the power station is actually used by the cooker – but the user is responsible for 100% of the CO2 emissions. “Green” electricity suppliers and clever controls like Aga’s Intelligent Management System can go some way, at least, to addressing this but doubts must remain over using electricity in this way.
Just staying on the efficiency issue, the Rayburn Cookmaster 400K runs on fuel–oil and is a cooker only. It takes some 2 hours (according to Rayburn’s figures) to cook a meal, and consumes 2.8 litres of fuel in that time. Aga also manufacture the Rangemaster range of contemporary cookers and the Classic 90 model, as a comparator, runs on gas and will consume the equivalent of around 1 litre of oil to cook the same meal. The cost difference will be something like £1-26 to 40p.
The reason is that the Cookmaster needs to heat the whole cooker (and the kitchen come to that) before it is ready to cook the food. With the Classic 90, like all conventional cookers, light the flame and you are ready to cook. It can be said that the Cookmaster removes the need for kettles, toasters and even tumble dryers, if you are happy to have laundry hanging in the kitchen. And maybe that is exactly the attraction of an Aga – that it is warm all day. People buying a range-style stove are not usually penny-pinching. They are not bothered that it costs 3 times as much to cook a meal, but increasingly they are bothered about the environmental impact.
Is there a sustainable option?
Rayburn offer a small range of solid fuel-fired cookers. Specifically the 345W model runs only on wood and as such qualifies as a renewable fuel appliance and attracts VAT at only 5% - for the machine and installation. Apart from the obvious issues around stoking the fire and emptying the ash-can this is a carbon neutral and cheap fuel that is truly renewable.
Similarly, Heritage suggest that their oil-fired cookers can run on bio-diesel, which can be as much as twice the price of standard heating oil but again is a carbon neutral fuel.
Aga say, and they have for some time, that they are developing a unit to run on vegetable oil, but as yet it is not available. Apparently the reason is that there is no national standard for the quality of the oil and no national supply network. Which, given the current state of the bio-diesel industry in the UK, implies we will be waiting a long time.
We need a sustainable Aga
The evidence seems overwhelming. Self-builders are increasing aware of the need for sustainability; it is they that turn up to the seminars, it is they that buy the books on green building and it is they that are leading the way with domestic scale renewable energy. It is also they that want to buy Agas, Rayburns, Heritage and Lacanche stoves. Is it too much to ask these large, international companies to organise themselves to deliver their high quality, recyclable products to run on sustainable fuels?