Smog and emissions

Smoke emissions due to incomplete combustion by wood burners can create environmental issues. These are commonly referred to as particulate emissions. They are one of the causes of smog and the very fine particles can cause respiratory problems.

In October 2004, the Government introduced the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality aimed at preventing toxic emissions and protecting air quality. The purpose of these standards is achieve the goal of having clean air in places where people live.

It is important to check if you are buying a woodburner whether it complies with the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality. On properties less than 2 hectares must have a discharge of less than 1.5 grams of particles for each kilogram of dry wood burnt, and a thermal efficiency at least 65%.

The Ministry for the Environment provide information, given in the link below, on woodburner models which have been tested and found to meet the performance requirements of the standard. The information includes emissions and efficiencies of compliant models.

Wood burner models

Environment Canterbury has even stricter regulations than the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality: less than 1.0g of smoke particles per kilogram of exhaust gas and at least 65 percent efficiency.
The Consumers Institute have done a comparison of 49 different woodburners based on price, performance and emissions (Note, requires subscription).