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You are here: Laws and treaties Contains: National environmental standards Contains: National environmental standards: Authorised wood burners Contains:

Frequently asked questions on wood burners

What are the national environmental standards for air quality?

The national environmental standards for air quality are 14 standards set for the protection of human health. These standards include:

  • five outdoor air quality standards (limits for air pollution)
  • seven standards that ban activities which discharge toxic substances to the air
  • a design standard for new wood burners in urban areas
  • a standard requiring landfills to collect and destroy their greenhouse gas emissions.

What is the wood burner design standard?

  • All new wood burners installed after 1 September 2005 must have a particle emission of less than 1.5 grams per kilogram of dry wood burnt.
  • They must also have a thermal efficiency of greater than 65%.
  • The requirements exclude open fires, multi-fuel heaters, pellet heaters, and cooking stoves.

Note: some councils may have more stringent rules (see Why do certain regional councils have more stringent rules than the national standard?).

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Where does the wood burner standard apply?

Everywhere in New Zealand on properties of less than 2 Ha.

Can you consider wood burners on a case-by-case basis, to allow for exemptions in certain circumstances?

No. The air quality standards are national regulations, so it would be illegal to use a non-compliant wood burner if it was installed on a property less than 2 Ha in size after September 2005.

Why do certain regional councils have more stringent rules than the national standard?

The air quality standards also require regional councils to meet limits for air pollution by 2013. In the more polluted areas of New Zealand, regional councils may impose more stringent rules on burners to ensure they meet the standards by 2013.

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What is the authorised list of wood burners?

  • The Ministry provides a national list of authorised wood burners. This list contains burners that comply with the wood burner standard. All burners on this list have been authorised by either Environment Canterbury or Nelson City Council.
  • The list is provided purely for informative purposes, to assist purchasers and building consent officers find compliant wood burner models.

What does authorised mean?

There are two steps for a burner to be authorised:

  1. The emissions and efficiency are tested by a laboratory. The laboratory issues a test report to state whether it meets the emissions and efficiency standards.
  2. The burner is then physically checked against the test report by an independent body (this is done by Environment Canterbury or Nelson City Council).

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Can I install a burner that is not on your ‘authorised’ list, but advertised as meeting the standards?

  • We advise caution. Yes, if the burner has been tested in accordance with AS/NZ4012:1999 and AS/NZ4013:1999 to demonstrate it meets the standards.
  • However, we advise the district and city councils to give building consents only to those wood burners present on the authorised list. This is because wood burners advertised on the authorised list have been through a rigorous checking process to assess compliance. A national review of performance of wood burners in 2006 revealed poor compliance overall. If a wood burner has not been through the authorisation process, there is less certainty that it is compliant with the standards
  • We strongly urge people to only purchase burners on the authorised list for their own protection.

Can I install a second hand burner?

  • You can still install a second hand wood burner as long as it meets the standards or if you live on a property of 2Ha or greater.
  • It should be noted that older second-hand burners are less likely to meet the standards.

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Can I install a multi-fuel or coal burner?

  • Multi-fuel and coal burners are outside our regulations.
  • Some council’s regulate multi-fuel and or coal burners through their regional rules. You will need to find out from your regional council whether it is legal to install these burners in your region.

What is a multi-fuel burner?

A domestic heating appliance designed to burn more than one type of solid fuel. The New Zealand Home Heating Association definition of a multi-fuel burner is as follows:

A multi-fuel appliance is a domestic solid fuel burning space heater which can be a fireplace insert, a built-in fireplace or free standing stove, and is designed to burn wood and/or coal. Required design features:

  • over fuel and under fuel combustion air supplies with separate controls
  • grate in the base of the firebox
  • ash pan under the grate.

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Can I install a cooking stove?

  • As long as it is designed and used for cooking and is heated by burning wood, you can install a cooking stove.
  • A good indication of a cooking stove is one that contains an oven.
  • A hot plate on top of a freestanding wood burner is not a cooking stove.

Are wetbacks still allowed?

  • Wetbacks have not been banned. They simply have to meet the minimum efficiency standard of 65%.
  • There are a number of wetback burner options on our list of authorised wood burners.

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Why are the shops still selling burners that do not meet the standard?

You can still install burners that do not meet the standard on a property of 2 Ha or greater.

Why is there the 2 Ha rule?

  • Most built up areas in New Zealand suffer from air pollution during winter. Our focus is on improving air quality in those areas.
  • As there is no nationally consistent definition for an urban environment, a property size of less than 2 Ha was used.
  • New Zealand also has to honour the Trans Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement (TTMRA) with Australia which says they can sell their products here and vice versa. The Australian wood burners are made to an emission limit of 4.0 g/kg with no efficiency requirement, so they do not always meet our standard. The 2 Ha rule means that Australian burners may still be legally sold in New Zealand.

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Can I install an open fire?

Where do I get a building consent?

Your local city or district council.

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If I move my wood burner from one room to another (within the same house), does the wood burner need to comply with the design standard?

Technically an existing burner that is moved within a house is considered a newly installed burner and therefore must meet the standard.

 

Can I still use my existing wood burner even though it does not meet the standard?

The wood burner standard is not retrospective, so existing wood burners will not be affected.

Note: Some councils may have more stringent rules about existing burners. See why do certain regional councils have more stringent rules than the national standard? for more information.

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Why are some wood burners graded as ‘pass’ ‘fail’ or ‘resolved’ on the authorised list?

Our authorised list shows the results from our recent 'National Performance Review of Wood burners'.  In this review, we tested a random selection of wood burners from our list to check whether they complied with the national environmental standards for air quality.   

During Phase 1 of the review, wood burners were physically checked in comparison with their original design.  During Phase 2 of the review, wood burners were physically checked and then put through full emissions and efficiency testing in an accredited laboratory.

Wood burners failed the review if they deviated from their original design or they failed to meet the national environmental standards.  Depending on how the change in design affects the wood burners’ emissions and efficiency, or the tested results, failures were classed as either ‘minor’, ‘moderate’ or ‘serious’.  If we could not determine whether a wood burner passed or failed, their results were classed as ‘undetermined’. 

We asked manufacturers to resolve any problems that were found in the performance review.  Wood burners with serious or moderate failures were removed from the list until the problems were resolved.  The final outcome of the review (i.e. whether problems were resolved), is also shown on the authorised list.

The Phase 1 and Phase 2 reports for the review are available online.

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Why is the Ministry doing a ‘National Performance Review of Wood Burners’?

We are doing this review to give consumers more confidence that wood burners advertised on our authorised list comply with the national environmental standards for air quality. See Why are some wood burners graded as ‘pass’ ‘fail’ or ‘resolved’ on the authorised list for more details of the review. 

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What were the overall results of the Performance Review of Wood burners?

The Performance Review revealed poor overall compliance.  In Phase 1, 54% of wood burners failed the review, 37% passed the review, and 9% of burners were undetermined.  In Phase 2, there was an overall ‘pass’ rate of only 20 per cent.

It should be noted that quality assurance amongst manufacturers varies significantly.  We advise people intending to purchase a wood burner to consult the Ministry for the Environment list of authorised burners.  This list has been updated following the review and is the only national, independently verified list available.

What if my burner failed the Performance Review?

The majority of identified failures have been resolved.  If you have any concerns about a wood burner that failed the national performance review, please contact your retailer and/or manufacturer.  Alternatively, you can email woodburners@mfe.govt.nz.

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