Learn more about the fireplace manufacturer, European Home and our range of distinctive modern gas, electric and wood fireplaces, or find an authorised fireplace retailer near you. When it comes to the manufacturer`s specifications, this leads to an alphabetical soup of standards, but luckily for you, a good fireplace manufacturer has done the job for you. What`s inside also matters. The National Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, which tracks consumer trends, notes that design is increasingly using stones and branches as interior materials (called media) for fireplaces other than wood. All European domestic households are UL or ANSI listed. You should be able to find your county`s stack bylaws and warnings about “save the air” or burn-free days by simply searching for these terms and your county name. If you have no choice but to light a wood fire, you don`t have to worry about being penalized for keeping the heat in the winter. There are exceptions for a small subset of people whose only option is wood heating, and you can usually apply for grants, rebates, and other financial assistance to help switch to gas or pellet stoves and fireplaces. You can get information from your stove manufacturer or your local municipality. An electric fireplace can be installed anywhere without the need for ventilation and can be plugged into any commercial household outlet.
It can be used with or without heat, and most are equipped with an adjustable thermostat. In the age of easy digital access to information, it can be assumed that the state would provide an updated list of local wood burning ordinances. But unfortunately, one hand doesn`t know what the other is doing! You will need to pick up the phone and call the local California Air Resources Board district office. Patricia Rosengren, executive director of the Pacific region of the Pasadena-based Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, notes two trends in Southern California homes: the inclusion of patio fireplaces as part of the outdoor boom and the addition of multiple fireplaces throughout the home. If you want to continue using your fireplace or wood stove, but are also concerned about the impact of wood smoke on the environment and health, you`ve come to the right place. “Our trusted retail members are aware of all technical updates to help homeowners choose and improve homes. This allows customers to focus on the design elements,” Rosengren said. Colorado has an ordinance that applies to the sale and installation of wood-burning appliances and the use of certain wood-burning appliances on days of high pollution. These and other air quality regulations are available on the Air Quality Review Board website. In some wood-fired homes, high concentrations of smoke pollutants escaping from stoves and fireplaces have been measured. If you or family members have chronic or repetitive breathing problems, such as asthma or emphysema, or if you have heart disease, you should not burn wood at all.
If you have to burn wood, make sure your stove or fireplace isn`t leaking and that you`re running it properly. In fact, the particles in wood smoke can be 1/70th the width of a human hair, small enough to overcome your body`s usual defenses in your throat and nose. In many communities, wood burning is limited only in winter. This was the case in the San Francisco Bay Area. “Spare the Air” alerts were once limited to the winter season, but since 2019 they can be implemented year-round. This is especially useful during forest fires in the summer, when air quality can also reach extremely low levels. Wood smoke is not only toxic to humans, but also has a significant impact on the environment. While these are notable achievements, California is also derisively referred to by some as the “nanny state.” What for? The presence of more than 150,000 health and safety laws could give you a clue. They are also pioneers in the country. Complete combustion emits light, heat and carbon dioxide and water vapor gases. Because when wood is burned, there is no complete combustion, it also produces wood smoke, which contains the following major air pollutants, which are regulated by state and federal regulations due to their known health effects: Lagrande, OR – Voluntary restriction of the use of wood stoves for heating based on daily recommendations. You can use a wood-burning fireplace most days in some California counties, but it becomes illegal to do so in your area on burn-free days, which usually occur in the winter.
Burning days prevent toxins from wood smoke from worsening air pollution, as inhaling these pollutants can cause health problems. Fortunately, when it comes to obtaining information about home regulations in California, it is included in Part 2.5, Chapter 10 of the Codebook. And like most other countries, these codes are based on the 2015 International Building Codes. Puget Sound Agency regulations set limits on visibility and opacity, so it is illegal to “smoke” neighbours. The 2015 Wood Stove Rule in the Tacoma-Pierce County Smoke Reduction Zone requires residents to remove or render unusable any uncertified wood stoves (most are over 25 years old) by September 30, 2015.