Home heating guidelines for your Clean Air Zone

Many people in Waitaha/Canterbury heat their homes by burning solid fuels, such as wood or pellets. There are rules in the Canterbury Air Regional Plan (CARP) guiding the installation of solid fuel burners.

Clean Air Zones are urban areas in Waitaha with a history of poor air quality. There are different home heating rules and different types of burners allowed in different Clean Air Zones. Our eight Clean Air Zones are in Rangiora, Kaiapoi, Christchurch, Ashburton, Washdyke/Timaru, Geraldine, and Waimate.

If you have an existing burner, you can find the age of the burner and when it needs replacing in the Solid Fuel Burner Database. A small number of pellet burners have been issued with a resource consent and can be operated it until this consent expires. If you are unsure whether this applies to you, or want to find out more, please call us on 0800 326 636.

The following information covers the main requirements for each Clean Air Zone. To read the full rules, please read the Canterbury Air Regional Plan.

Region-wide (outside of a Clean Air Zone)

Wood burner-use rules for sites that are less than 2ha in size (generally urban areas):

• Use dry, seasoned wood only
• No visible smoke, except for brief periods (specified as 15 minutes at start up and 5 minutes at refuelling)
• Ultra-low emission burners and low-emission burners are allowed into all homes
• Older style burners can be used, but cannot be installed
• No burning of toxic substances/materials

Wood burner-use rules for sites that are greater than 2ha in size (generally rural areas):

• No burning of toxic substances/materials
• Best practice to use dry and seasoned wood
• Best practice to have no visible smoke, except for brief periods (specified as 15 minutes at start up and 5 minutes at refuelling)

Region-wide (inside a Clean Air Zone)

Wood burner-use rules for sites that are less than 2ha in size (generally urban areas):

• Use dry, seasoned wood only
• No visible smoke, except for brief periods (specified as 15 minutes at start up and 5 minutes at refuelling)
• No burning of toxic substances/materials

Heritage buildings

There are exceptions for listed heritage buildings where the heating appliances and chimney were original features (including restored original features). Please contact us to discuss your situation further.

We understand replacing old wood burners with new, cleaner forms of heating can be costly. Find out more about financial assistance to replace your expired or expiring wood burner.