Check your heater complies with the standard
New heaters are cleaner burning and more efficient than older-style wood heaters and open fires.
A slow combustion heater will produce less pollution than a pot-belly stove or open fire because the fire is sealed in an air tight box.
Check your heater has a compliance plate stating it conforms to the Australian Standard for pollution emissions (AS 4013). If it doesn't you might consider upgrading your heater to a newer more efficient model.
The Clean Air Regulation requires all new solid fuel home heaters sold in NSW (local and imported) comply with the emission standards in AS4013:99. (See the Protection of the Environment Operations (Clean Air) Regulation 2010)
Contact your local council to check on local regulations before installing a wood heater.
Some councils keep a register of licensed installers who will certify heaters are installed to the standard. There may also be special considerations in choosing a suitable chimney for your local area.
Poor heater selection, installation and operation are the main causes of air pollution from wood heaters.
To help local councils combat these problems, OEH produced the comprehensive Guidelines on Selecting, Installing and Operating Domestic Solid Fuel Heaters available from OEH Publications, or download: woodguide.pdf (109 kb). PDF requires Acrobat Reader.
Most wood heaters are sold with conical caps, designed to prevent rain entering your flue. However, this type of cap restricts the air flow and forces the smoke in a downward direction.
A flue should encourage the smoke to travel vertically, giving it a better chance of being dispersed. A concentric shroud, venturi cowl or parallel rain excluder will allow the smoke to travel upwards and significantly reduce the amount of rain entering the chimney.
Because rain usually falls at an angle, the rain hits the inside sides of the shroud, travels down the sides and out the bottom without entering the chimney.
To minimise the effect of smoke on your neighbours, OEH recommends the top of a chimney should be at least one metre higher than any other building within a 15 metre radius.
Topography can play a big part in the dispersion of wood smoke so if you live on a steep hill, for example, there may be other considerations.
Contact your local council for advice or see the 'Site suitability and chimney height' section of the OEH guidelines - domestic solid fuel heaters (above).
Page last updated: 18 May 2012
