Home heating: COVID-19 update
While we know that smoke from wood burners is a contributor to urban air pollution, it is essential for people to stay warm in their homes, especially as we enter the cooler months. As ever, we advise you to use good burning technique and good quality wood. Merchants are able to continue delivering wood during the lockdown period, as this is considered an essential service. Be cautious where you purchase your wood from; recently cut wood will not be ready of this winter. Our process for smoky chimney complaints has been revised; Report as normal, via Snap Send Solve, phone or email. This information will be gathered and collated, but due to our offices being closed and staff being at home, we will not be able to take action until COVID-19 alert levels reduce. The information will be used to inform future action. We also know that there are a number of you who have not replaced your non-complying burners. These are unprecedented times and the most important thing is for you stay warm; as such, we will be encouraging the upgrade of these burners following this period of uncertainty. Please get in touch to find out how we can support you to do this. Stay warm, stay home.

Scientific evidence tells us that inefficient wood burners and poor wood burning technique are responsible for the majority of winter pollution in our region. That’s why we are encouraging the use of ENERGY STAR® qualified heat pumps or modern ultra-low emission burners that emit less smoke than older, more polluting burners. Plus we are encouraging everyone to adopt better burning practices so they get the very best out of their wood burners by learning to burn smoke free.

Home heating measures in my clean air zone

Find out the wood burner rules in your clean air zone.

Does the 1 January 2020 wood burner deadline affect you?

Waimate and Geraldine - find out if you can use your wood burner next year.

Financial assistance and temporary waivers

We can help homeowners struggling with replacing old heating systems.

Better burning reduces smoke

Combining good wood with good burning technique reduces chimney smoke.

Burner types

Read about the five basic types of home heating appliances.

Home Performance Assessments

Check out how energy efficient your home is with a Performance Assessment.

Registering your new burner

If you are installing a wood burner or pellet fire within a Clean Air Zone, you will need to register it using our Solid Fuel Burner Database or by ringing customer services with your details.

You can also use the database to:

  • check the age of your existing burner
  • check the age of a burner at a property you are thinking of purchasing
  • let us know when home ownership changes
  • update your burner details, such as its make and model.