Your Fireplace: What Regulations You Really Need to Follow

What you can expect

1. Why are there fireplace regulations at all?
2. What stove regulations are there?
3. Support from a specialist company: not mandatory, but recommended
4. Clearance & floor protection: you must observe these stove regulations when installing your stove
5. How much air supply does a wood-burning stove need - and why does it matter?
6. Flue pipe & chimney: clear specifications for safe operation
7. Do I need a permit for my wood-burning stove?
8. Open vs. closed fireplaces: What regulations apply?
9. Obligation to replace old stoves

Why are there fireplace regulations at all?

At first glance, fireplace regulations seem strict - but they are above all one thing: safety rules that make operation easier for you.

Fireplace regulations protect you, your home and your surroundings from

• Smoke and fumes in the living area
• fire hazards
• Problems with the flue
• Unnecessary emissions and particulate matter

Support from a specialist company: not mandatory, but recommended

Legally, your stove can be installed by any skilled craftsman.

The only obligation is to have it approved by a chimney sweep.

Nevertheless, we strongly recommend having the installation carried out by a specialist company.

• Specialist dealers know all the technical and legal requirements.
• Typical installation errors are avoided.
• Acceptance by the chimney sweep is much more relaxed.
• All fire protection and clearance requirements are reliably met.
• The flue pipe is dimensioned to fit the chimney.

In short: a specialist company relieves you of many worries - and saves you unnecessary stress later on.

Clearances & ground protection: You must observe these stove regulations when installing your stove

To ensure that your stove can be operated safely, certain minimum distances from flammable objects and components must be observed to prevent heat build-up and overheating as well as contact with embers and fire.

Side clearance to furniture and walls:

• Distance to flammable surfaces (e.g. wood paneling)
• Distance to the front
• Distance to the ceiling

So that you don't have to puzzle over how much this actually is: The exact distances can always be found in the operating instructions for your fireplace model.

Floor protection plate: If the floor in front of the appliance is flammable, it must be protected from falling embers and heat radiation by a non-combustible cover plate. These are usually made of steel and sometimes also of glass. However, glass plates are not always permitted due to their radiolucency. Your specialist dealer can help you make the right choice.

You can find out how you can also ensure safety around your fireplace in our detailed blog post on the subject.

How much air supply does a wood-burning stove need - and why does it matter?

A wood-burning stove needs a lot of oxygen to burn well: approx. 4 m³ of room air per kW of heat output. A 7 kW stove therefore needs around 28 m³ of air for the fire to burn properly.

In older houses, this air usually flows in without any problems - in modern, very airtight buildings, however, it hardly ever does.

If there is no combustion air, the fire burns more poorly and smokes, and you won't feel comfortable in the room.

In addition, ventilation systems or extractor hoods can create negative pressure, which can even draw smoke into the living space.

When an RLU stove is mandatory

As a rule of thumb, an air-independent stove is only prescribed if a negative pressure situation can occur in the room where it is installed and flue gases could be drawn into the room. This is often the case in very airtight new buildings, low-energy and passive houses and buildings with ventilation systems.

In this case, there are two possible solutions:

• Differential pressure monitor - A certified pressure monitor detects negative pressure and automatically switches off the negative pressure generator if necessary. A window contact switch offers a similar solution. This only releases the vacuum generator, like the ventilation system, when sufficient fresh air can flow in, i.e. when a window is open.

• RLU-certified fireplace - The stove is supplied directly with external combustion air via a sealed connection and is therefore completely independent of the pressure conditions in the room.

Your specialist dealer or chimney sweep will tell you what the right solution is for your situation.

Which method is right for you depends on your living situation - your specialist dealer will advise you.

By the way: An RLU-certified appliance may also be required in some federal states when connecting to an LAS chimney. However, many manufacturers of these chimneys now have an additional standard chimney certification - in this case, an RLU stove is not required. Here too, it is worth consulting an expert in your area.

Important to know: There are also stoves without RLU certification that can be operated with external combustion air. However, they are not completely independent of the pressure conditions in the installation room - and are therefore not an equivalent alternative to a certified RLU appliance.

RLU certification in transition: what you should know

You may have come across the term "DIBT-certified" in your research. These separate certificates are currently expiring and are no longer renewed by the DIBt.

With the new European standard EN 16510, room air independence is now verified directly as part of the official type test.

Your Spartherm specialist dealer knows exactly which models meet this requirement - and will provide you with reliable advice.

Flue pipe & chimney: clear specifications for safe operation

To ensure that your fireplace draws reliably, the flue pipe and chimney must meet certain requirements.

What is important for the flue pipe:

• Suitable pipe diameter
• Approved, heat-resistant materials
• Sufficient distance from combustible surfaces
• Correctly dimensioned pipe length
• professional installation

What is important for the chimney:

• Sufficient height for good draught
• Correct cross-sectional ratio
• clean connection to the stove
• no leaks

If something does not fit here, typical problems such as smoke or poor draught arise.

That's why it's worth relying on specialist knowledge and consulting an experienced specialist dealer.

Open vs. closed fireplaces: Which regulations apply?

Open fireplaces are not legally considered fully-fledged heating appliances. They may therefore only be used occasionally.

Closed fireplaces, on the other hand, are regular fireplaces. They:

• may be operated daily (with a self-closing door)
• must meet all emission and efficiency requirements of the BImSchV
• offer significantly higher efficiency and cleaner combustion

So if you want to use your open fireplace regularly and efficiently, you should consider a fireplace cassette. It turns an open fireplace into a closed, safe and significantly more efficient fireplace - and meets the current requirements.

Find out more in this blog post.

Obligation to replace old wood-burning stoves

Do you already have a fireplace and are wondering which regulations apply?

Please use our contact form to ask your question about your Spartherm model.

You can find even more detailed information in the blog post on the replacement obligation, in which all deadlines and details are explained clearly.