Since the legal validity of the new regulation for small furnaces (German 1. BImSchV) in March 2010, concrete specifications for single room fireplaces with regard to emissions and efficiency are existing in Germany. In addition the regulation contains a renovation scheme for equipment. Though the regulation has a very long implementation period so the reduction of dust and other pollutants has to be realized step-by-step till 2024.

Wood as a renewable fuel counts to the government-sponsored renewable energies for a good reason. Solid biomass is used for over 70 percent of the German production of heat – avoiding almost 21 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. This equals to the annual per-capita emissions of Munich and Frankfurt/Main together. Over the years the further developed combustion technology played a part in contributing to reduce the emissions of modern solid fuel appliances and is considerable increasing the efficiency.

On the other hand old fireplaces are responsible for the biggest part of today’s emissions, therefore the increase of the annual exchange of equipment is to aspire. That is why the HKI also appeals to the consumers to think about the premature exchange of old fireplaces in their own interest. The benefits for the climate and environment as well as the decreasing heating costs are related to a renovation. You can find further information here: www.ratgeber-ofen.de (in German)