Burning wood

Many of our residents have wood-burning stoves, fire pits, and fireplaces, or light up the barbecue. Burning fuel provides warmth and creates a cozy atmosphere.

As cozy as a fire or barbecue can be, your neighbors may not be so happy about it. Some people simply find smoke unpleasant, while others have sensitive airways, asthma, or other lung diseases. They can be greatly affected by wood burning. That is why it is important to prevent you and your neighbors from being bothered by wood burning.

Heating guide

The heating guide is a website with information about heating. The heating guide measures at the postal code level and looks at air quality and wind force.

Enter your address on the website. You will then receive advice on whether indoor and outdoor heating could cause problems for your neighbors. If there is little wind, heating can cause health problems and a code red applies. Burning wood is then not recommended.

Campaign 'Honest about wood burning'

Would you like to learn more about the consequences of burning wood?

The Milieu Centraal website features the latest research. Here you can read about the health effects of burning wood. Eerlijk over houtstook (Honest about wood burning) is a campaign by Milieu Centraal. Milieu Centraal was founded by the government. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW), the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) are the main financiers.

Permitted without a heating exemption

Only fires for cooking, baking, or roasting, and fires from candles, torches, fire pits, or a (patio) fireplace are permitted without a heating permit. The fire must not pose a danger to the surroundings and must not cause any nuisance to others. It is not permitted to burn waste materials. In addition, for new buildings and renovations, the chimney must extend at least 0.5 meters above the ridge height of the roof.

Tips to prevent smoke nuisance when burning wood

What can you do to ensure that you and your neighbors are less affected by the smoke?

  1. Leave your fireplace or wood stove unlit in calm or foggy weather and consult the heating guide.
  2. Only burn dry wood.
  3. Do not burn impregnated or painted wood.
  4. Place small pieces of wood on top and light the fire from above.
  5. Have your chimney swept thoroughly at least once a year.
  6. Ensure a full air supply. Do not smother the wood and allow a wood fire to burn out naturally.
  7. Keep ventilation grilles open during heating.
  8. Check regularly that you are heating properly: a good fire has yellow, even flames and almost no smoke coming out of the chimney.

More information can be found on the RIVM website 'Wood smoke and health'.
There is also a lot of information on the Milieucentraal website: 'Heating with wood'.

Tips if you are bothered by smoke

The rules for burning wood can sometimes be unclear. There are no national rules for wood burning in the Netherlands. In addition, there are no generally accepted measurement methods. It is therefore very difficult to determine when there is nuisance.

The burden caused by smoke can also depend greatly on the weather. Enforcement is difficult because there are no fixed regulations or measurement methods.

Tips:

  • Have a friendly and honest conversation with those responsible. They may not be aware that the smoke is bothering you. Finding a solution together can be simple. Using a different type of wood or paying attention to the weather or wind direction can make a big difference.
  • If you cannot reach a solution together, you can opt for neighborhood mediation. More information can be found on our neighborhood mediation page. A mediator will review the situation with you and your neighbors so that you can reach a solution together.
  • Although the municipality cannot do much, it is good that we have insight into the number of nuisance situations. You can report smoke nuisance to the municipality.

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