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Rules for domestic heating appliances

There are rules on what domestic heating appliances to use and how to operate them to limit particle emissions. Emissions from domestic fires are bad for your health and a nuisance for you and your neighbours.

Installing, replacing or relocating a domestic heating appliance

If you are planning to install, replace or relocate a domestic heating appliance, you must obtain a building consent.

If you have a domestic heating appliance that was installed after 1 September 2005, it must meet the National Environmental Standards (NES).

Heating appliances installed after 1 June 2017 must also meet the standard in clause 7 of Auckland's Air Quality Bylaw for Indoor Domestic Fires 2017 (AQB).

Types of domestic heating appliances you can install

The kind of indoor fireplace you can install depends on:

the size of your property
where you live
the particle emission rate of the fireplace.

Rules and standards

Area	Property size in hectares	Rule
Rural	Greater than or equal to 2ha	Domestic fire permitted.
Rural	Less than 2ha	Enclosed woodburners must meet a particle emission rate of <1.5g/kg and a thermal efficiency rate of >65 per cent (NES). Other domestic fires permitted.
Urban, coastal or industrial	Greater than or equal to 2ha	All domestic solid fuel fires must meet a particle emission rate of <4g/kg (clause 7 of the AQB).
Urban, coastal or industrial	Less than 2ha	Enclosed woodburners must meet a particle emission rate of <1.5g/kg and a thermal efficiency rate of >65 per cent(NES). All domestic solid fuel fires must meet a particle emission rate of <4g/kg (clause 7 of the AQB).

Enclosed wood burners

Enclosed wood burners installed in a property smaller than two hectares must comply with the NES design standard.

For a list of complying wood burners, see the Ministry for Environment website.

Solid fuel fires

In Auckland’s urban areas, new solid fuel indoor fires must meet the emission standard in Clause 7 of the AQB.

Solid fuel open fires

Most solid fuel open fires do not meet the emission standard in Clause 7 of the AQB. Property owners should consider installing an alternative type of fireplace with lower emissions, such as an enclosed wood burner or gas fire.

Gas and liquid fossil fuel fires

Indoor fires that burn gas or liquid fossil fuel can be installed anywhere in Auckland, as they have low emissions of small particulates. This includes open gas fires.

What's not included in the NES

The NES do not include these burners as wood burners:

open fires
pellet burners
multi-fuel burners
wood-burning cooking stoves
coal-burning heaters.

However, these burners must still comply with the standard in clause 7 of the Air Quality Bylaw for Indoor Domestic Fires 2017.

Further advice for installing a fireplace

Before you purchase a fireplace, ask a retailer find about the technical design standards of the model you are interested.

For more information about the type of indoor fireplace you can install in your area, contact us.

Further information

For rules and guidelines about using a domestic heating appliance see:

Minimise smoke from your fireplace
Clause 6 of the Air Quality Bylaw for Indoor Domestic Fires 2017.

For more information about using a domestic heating appliance, email the Air quality team.

For rules on outdoor burning, see: