Heating your Home

Fires and air quality standards

From 2005 onwards, new fires have been manufactured to meet the new Government air quality standards. Older fires contribute to the air quality problem because they are less efficient and have higher pollutant emissions. The Regional Council rules state that non-compliant fires are or will be prohibited from use, with the older fires phased out first.

Which fires are now illegal?

You can no longer use non-compliant fires.

If your property sits on less than two hectares in Airzone 1 of any airshed you can now no longer use an open fire.

If your property is less than two hectares and located within Airzone 1 then any non-compliant wood burner or open fire is prohibited from use when the property is transferred to a new owner.

Properties greater than two hectares in size, or located in Airzone 2 of the Hastings or Napier Airsheds can continue to use their existing burners or open fires, however, on replacing the burner, the relevant national burner emission limits must be complied with.

During the months of May to August (inclusive) outdoor burning outside of permitted activities is not allowed unless a resource consent is obtained. Find out more including what the permitted activities are on our page Outdoor burning.

Replacing your open fire or older model wood burner gives you cleaner winter air and a healthier home inside and out. We can help you and provide advice and funding for plenty of efficient heating options, including heatpumps, gas fires, pellet burners and wood burners. More information is available at genless.govt.nz

Burner emissions limits

The following burner emission limits apply within the Napier and Hastings Airsheds:

Airshed / Airzone	Burner Emission Limits
Hastings Zone 1 ( < 2ha )	1.0 g/kg for all freestanding fires and insert burners without a wetback. 1.5 g/kg for insert burners with a wetback.
Hastings Zone 1 ( > 2ha )	1.5g/kg for all burners
Hastings Zone 2	1.5g/kg for all burners
Napier	1.5g/kg for all burners
Outside the Airsheds	1.5g/kg for all burners*

* Woodburner emission limit of 1.5g/kg applies to all properties less than 2ha regardless of whether property is within or beyond an Airshed. This limit is specified in the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards Relating to Certain Air Pollutants, Dioxins, and Other Toxics) Regulations 2004.Approved burners are required to have a thermal efficiency of 65% or greater as described in AS/NZS4013:1999.

Airsheds

An airshed is a legally designated air quality management area. In New Zealand, regional councils and unitary authorities have identified areas to be managed as airsheds for the purposes of the national environmental standards for air quality.

The majority of our airsheds may have levels of pollutants that exceed the national environmental standards for air quality. Some airsheds are also identified based on factors such as

number of people living in the airshed now or in the future
unique weather patterns and geography
local air emissions, such as local industrial activity, that need to be specifically considered and managed.

You can use the map below to check whether your property falls in to the airshed, and what it means regarding replacing a non-compliant fire if you live in the blue or red zones.

Choosing firewood

Choosing dry firewood that burns well keeps your home warmer and our air cleaner.

If wood isn't properly dried, it burns with less heat and produces lots of smoke, polluting the air and costing you more money.

Burning damp wood means the fire is mostly used boiling the moisture out of the wood, and this is why there’s lots of smoke. You are actually using up more wood for fuel to get the fire hot enough. Smoky fires also pollute the air creating a health risk.

Check out our tips below, and some helpful videos showing how to choose, stack, and set a fire that produces very little air pollution inside and outside your home and is efficient to run.

Tips to improve the efficiency of your fire and minimise air pollution

Use only dry, seasoned fire wood from a reputable supplier. It can cost more per cord, but you will use less of it to get more warmth into your home. Dry seasoned firewood will have been correctly dried over a two years minimum period of management, or dried in a kiln. This careful management achieves a very dry wood that burns with a lot of heat.
Go outside and check your chimney – you will see smoke when it’s first lit, but once the fire is well underway and hot, you should just see a shimmer of heat.
Don’t damp the fire down when you go to bed, as this increases the smoke as the fire smoulders. Modern compliant units won’t allow this anyway.
Never burn treated or painted wood, or driftwood from the beach. It may be free but has hidden costs because burning releases harmful chemicals which will damage your burner and harm your health.
Put your rubbish in the bin, not in the fire. Burning plastics particularly releases harmful chemicals, and it smells.
Have your wood burner and flue professionally checked and serviced each year before the winter begins.

Tips for choosing and storing firewood

A good quality, dry wood supply lasts longer as it will burn hot and you will use less of it. Correctly dry wood has almost no bark on it and sounds hollow when knocked together.
If you chop your own or get wood locally, go for denser hardwoods for a longer burn and use softwoods for kindling. Collect wood 6-12 months before intended use. Select wood which is already partially dry, that’s sound with no rot or excessive bark. Split larger logs to assist drying and burning. Stack fuel loosely in a dry place and cover the top and two sides so air can pass freely through the pile.
Use fuel in order - the oldest and driest first.
Always SAY NO to offers of treated or painted wood, or driftwood from the beach. It may be free but has hidden costs because burning releases harmful chemicals which will damage your burner and harm your health.

10 tips for drying firewood

Get the basics right, and you can have perfect firewood.

Perfect firewood has a moisture content of below 20 percent. Above that, wood in your firebox puts its energy into drying, not producing heat.

It also creates lots of smoke and a sticky creosote layer inside your flue. Research has found if you do it right by following steps, your fire will be more efficient.

Cut wood to a length that fits easily into your woodburner or fireplace – the firewood in the research was at most 60cm long.
Split the wood at least once – wood dries along the grain up to 15 times faster than across the grain.
Ideally, store drying firewood in a ventilated shed; only put it in the sun if it’s not going to rain.
Wood sitting on concrete, tarseal, or another solid surface dries significantly faster than wood on bare or vegetation-covered ground.
Stack wood so there’s space for air to flow between the pieces. Orientation is important: shorter, narrower stacks dry faster.
Stack wood away from buildings and trees, which block wind and breezes, decreasing the drying rate.
Only cover the top of an outdoor stack when it’s drying. Test wood with a top cover took half as long to dry in a sunny, airy place as a completely covered stack.
Allow sun and air to reach the sides of the woodpile to help dry the wood.
Cover in autumn or newly dry firewood will soak up moisture again.
By autumn, it’s too late to season green wood due to humidity and moisture levels; even in a dry shed, it’s unlikely to get below 30 percent moisture content.