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The stink remains even for efficient fires. Smoke is often correlated of course. I'm in Christchurch, New Zealand which gets winter smog,. The city council enf
by robocat 9mo ago
The stink remains even for efficient fires. Smoke is often correlated of course.
I'm in Christchurch, New Zealand which gets winter smog,. The city council enforces rules and woodburners need to meet strict emission standards. They regularly tighten the rules so that if you want a woodburner you need to replace it every 15 years or so.
But they do still smell.
The rules have radically improved the air quality here and we now get much less smog than when I was a kid.
Outright banning open fires and coal years ago made a big difference too.
I'm not sure what happens if you don't follow the rules. A neighbour can make a complaint and there will get taken seriously and I believe they have a van sometimes checking too. Although I've personally never heard of anyone actually getting caught.
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- modo_mario 9mo ago>They regularly tighten the rules so that if you want a woodburner you need to replace it every 15 years or so. What's that supposed to achieve? Also what do you do if you build your own woodburner/fireplace?
- namibj 9mo agoNo one is forcing you to get/build one that doesn't far exceed the current regulations to the point where it is expected to exceed them until the end of its useful lifespan.
- modo_mario 9mo agoWhat do you mean? A fireplace can last far far longer than that timespan and it's efficiency is not tied to it's age.
- namibj 9mo agoIf you don't want to replace it after 15 years, buy one that will pass emissions for the next 30 years.
- modo_mario 9mo agoAnd the certification will cost almost nothing and take into account everything i presume? Or will it center around the ones you can buy in a shop of the shelf like most regulation and be ridiculously prohibitive for everyone that goes off the beaten path?
- robocat 9mo agoIt achieves cleaner air, which I personally like, and which is especially great for anyone with lung problems like asthmatics. I suspect part of the rule tightening is to slowly squeeze to get rid of fires altogether (the outcome with the cleanest air). > what do you do if you build your own woodburner/fireplace? You couldn't afford to do it legally (I expect emissions testing is expensive). I don't know what the penalties are for illegal woodburners/fireplaces. My personal experience is that it isn't enforced. I'd guess penalties can be avoided unless you're a repeat offender with a complaining neighbour. Note that outdoor braziers are legal AFAIK. Although Outdoor fires have some restrictions - especially if very dry and high fire risk. Firewood is not cheap for heating. Even if you have free trees then it costs a lot of time (in my experience) and often equipment or transport is expensive too. Here's some historical data that shows very significant improvement over 25 years: https://www.ecan.govt.nz/your-region/your-environment/air-quality/check-urban-air-quality/air-quality-trends#e23253 https://www.ecan.govt.nz/your-region/your-environment/air-qu... The smog was horrific before 2000 when those statistics start. Apparently low air quality was implicated in many deaths per year here.