Ordinance on Small and Medium-Sized Firing Installations
1st BImSchV
The Ordinance on Small and Medium-Sized Firing Installations (1st BImSchV) governs the installation and operation of small and medium-sized firing installations with the aim of reducing the emission of air pollutants.
The stipulations for existing and new wood-firing installations are of special benefit to municipalities with too much particulate matter in the air. The daily limit value of 50 micrograms particulate matter, or PM10 per cubic metre air (µg/m³), must be complied with. Under EU law, this limit value may only be exceeded on 35 days per year. In addition, the average PM10 value per calendar year of 40 micrograms per cubic metre air must not be exceeded. In 2015, the limit value for PM2.5 was set at an annual average of 25 micrograms per cubic metre.
Scope of the ordinance
The scope of the ordinance was extended to cover all kinds of central heating installations. Before 2010, the 1st BImSchV only specified limit values for wood-firing installations with a rated heat output of more than 15 kilowatt (kW) and for oil and gas firing installations with a rated heat output of more than 11 kilowatt.
Currently, it is mainly smaller heating installations that are put into operation because residential buildings are better insulated and firing installations work more efficiently. This has led to many residential heating installations for solid fuels with a rated heat output of less than 15 kilowatt and many oil and gas firing installations with a rated heat output of less than 11 kilowatt. Thus, the amended ordinance, which entered into force on 22 March 2010, stipulates limit values for all firing installations with a rated heat output of 4 kilowatt and more.
New single-room firing installations
Before 2010, single-room firing installations for solid fuels, for example tiled stoves or fireplaces, did not have to comply with specific emission requirements because in general their rated heat output was less than 15 kilowatt. The amended 1st BImSchV requires a type test for all new single-room firing installations regardless of the rated heat output stated by the manufacturer. During the type test, measurements are carried out to document that the firing installation can comply with the rigorous emission limit values for particulate matter and carbon monoxide and the required minimum efficiency.
Single-room firing installations constructed from 22 March 2010 onwards must prove that they comply with Level 1 limit values. Since 1 January 2015 new installations must comply with Level 2 limit values.
| Level 1: | Construction from 22 March 2010 onwards | Level 2: | Construction after 31 December 2014 | Construction from 22 March 2010 onwards | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type of furnace | Technical standards | CO [g/m3] | Particulate matter [g/m3] | CO [g/m3] | Particulate matter [g/m3] | Minimum efficiency [%] |
| Room heater with flat fuelling | DIN EN 13240 (edition October 2005) | 2,0 | 0,075 | 1,25 | 0,04 | 73 |
| Room heater with fill firing | DIN EN 13240 (edition October 2005) | 2,5 | 0,075 | 1,25 | 0,04 | 70 |
| Individual storage firing installations | DIN EN 15250/A1 (edition Juni 2007) | 2,0 | 0,075 | 1,25 | 0,04 | 75 |
| Fireplace insert (closed operation) | DIN EN 13229 (edition October 2005) | 2,0 | 0,075 | 1,25 | 0,04 | 75 |
| Tiled stove inserts with flat fuelling | DIN EN 13229/A1 (edition October 2005) | 2,0 | 0,075 | 1,25 | 0,04 | 80 |
| Tiled stove inserts with fill firing | DIN EN 13229/A1 (edition October 2005) | 2,5 | 0,075 | 1,25 | 0,04 | 80 |
| Cook stoves | DIN EN 12815 (edition September 2005) | 3,0 | 0,075 | 1,50 | 0,04 | 70 |
| Heating and cooking stoves | DIN EN 12815 (edition September 2005) | 3,5 | 0,075 | 1,50 | 0,04 | 75 |
| Pellet stoves without water compartment | DIN EN 14785 (edition September 2006) | 0,40 | 0,05 | 0,25 | 0,03 | 85 |
| Pellet stoves with water compartment | DIN EN 14785 (edition September 2006) | 0,40 | 0,03 | 0,25 | 0,02 | 90 |
Our advice
When buying a new single-room firing installation, take care that it is accompanied by a type certificate documenting that the firing installation can comply with existing limit values. This certificate must to be shown to the chimney sweep on request.
Existing single-room firing installations
(Constructed and put into operation before 22 March 2010)
Existing single-room firing installations for solid fuels not complying with emission limit values of 0.15 grams particulate matter per cubic metre waste gas volume and 4 grams carbon monoxide per cubic metre waste gas volume must be retrofitted or decommissioned. In case of retrofitting, the device to reduce particulate matter emissions must be state-of-the-art. The obligation to meet these limit values will be applied gradually to existing firing installations. There is a long-term schedule for retrofitting or decommissioning these installations.
Date on the type plate | Date of retrofitting or decommissioning |
|---|---|
Up to and including 31 December 1974 or date no longer ascertainable | 31 December 2014 |
1 January 1975 to 31 December 1984 | 31 December 2017 |
1 January 1985 to 31 December 1994 | 31 December 2020 |
1 January 1995 up to and including 21 March 2010 | 31 December 2024 |
New heating boilers
The limit values for particulate matter and carbon monoxide were increased in two steps based on the type of solid fuel used. Level 1 applies for central heating boilers constructed and put into operation between 22 March 2010 and 31 December 2014. As of 1 January 2015, the Level 2 limit values apply to new installations.
| Fuel in accordance with section 3 subsection (1) | Rated heat output (kilowatt) | Particulate matter (g/m3) | CO (g/m3) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1: Installations constructed from 22 March 2010 onwards | Nos. 1 to 3a | ≥ 4 ≤ 500 | 0,09 | 1,0 |
| >500 | 0,09 | 0,5 | ||
| Nos. 4 to 5 | ≥ 4 ≤ 500 | 0,10 | 1,0 | |
| >500 | 0,10 | 0,5 | ||
| No. 5a | ≥ 4 ≤ 500 | 0,06 | 0,8 | |
| >500 | 0,06 | 0,5 | ||
| Nos. 6 to 7< | ≥ 30 ≤ 100 | 0,10 | 0,8 | |
| > 100 ≤ 500 | 0,10 | 0,5 | ||
| > 500 | 0,10 | 0,3 | ||
| Nos. 8 and 13 | ≥ 4 < 100 | 0,10 | 1,0 | |
| Level 2: Installations constructed after 31 December 2014 | Nos. 1 to 5a | ≥4 | 0,02 | 0,4 |
| Nos.6 to 7 | ≥ 30 ≤ 500 | 0,02 | 0,4 | |
| > 500 | 0,02 | 0,3 | ||
| Nos. 8 and 13 | ≥ 4 < 100 | 0,02 | 0,4 |
Existing heating boilers
(Constructed and put into operation before 22 March 2010)
Following a transitional period, existing heating systems fired by solid fuel must comply with Level 1 limit values when emissions are taken by a chimney sweep. The deadline that applies depends on the construction date of the boiler. If the limit values are not complied with after the end of the transitional period, the boiler must be retrofitted or replaced. Otherwise, the installation must be decommissioned. The chimney sweep will inform the operator of the firing installation in good time about the status of the installation. The transitional periods to reach compliance with Level 1 requirements are based on the average service life of the type of installation.
| Date of construction | Date of compliance with the limit values of Level 1 of section 5 subsection (1) |
|---|---|
| Up to and including 31 December 1994 | 1 January 2015 |
| From 1 January 1995 up to and including 31 December 2004 | 1 January 2019 |
| From 1 January 2005 up to and including 21 March 2010 | 1 January 2025 |
Fuels in accordance with section 3 subsection (1)
- hard coal, non-pitch-bonded hard coal briquettes, hard coal coke,
- brown coal, brown coal briquettes, brown coal coke,
- fuel peat, pellets made of fuel peat
3a. barbecue charcoal, barbecue charcoal briquettes in accordance with DIN EN 1860, edition September 2005, - untreated chunky wood, including the attached bark, in particular in the shape of split logs and chips, as well as brushwood and cones,
- untreated non-chunky wood, in particular in the shape of sawdust, shavings and sander dust, as well as bark,
5a. pellets made of untreated wood in the shape of wood briquettes in accordance with DIN 51731, edition October 1996, or in the shape of wood pellets in accordance with the requirements made of fuels by the DINplus Certification Scheme “Wood pellets for use in small furnaces in accordance with DIN 51731-HP 5”, edition August 2007, as well as of other wood briquettes or wood pellets made of untreated wood of equivalent quality, - painted, lacquered or coated wood, as well as residues thereof, insofar as no wood preservatives were applied or are contained therein as the result of treatment, and coatings do not contain any halogenorganic compounds or heavy metals
- plywood, chipboard, fibreboard or other glued wood, as well as residues thereof, insofar as no wood preservatives were applied or are contained therein as the result of treatment, and coatings do not contain any halogenorganic compounds or heavy metals,
- straw and similar plant-based materials, cereals not intended as food such as cereal grains and broken cereal grains, whole grain plants, tailings, husks and cereal stalk remnants, as well as pellets made of the abovementioned fuels,
- fuel oil EL in accordance with DIN 51603-1, edition August 2008, and other light heating oils of equivalent quality, as well as methanol, ethanol, untreated plant-based oils or plant-based oil methyl ester,
- gases from public gas supply, untreated natural gas or petroleum gas with comparable sulphur contents, as well as liquid gas or hydrogen,
- sewer gas with a volume content of sulphur compounds up to 1 per thousand, stated as sulphur, or biogas from agriculture,
- coke oven gas, mine gas, steel gas, blast furnace gas, refinery gas and synthesis gas with a volume content of sulphur compounds up to 1 per thousand, stated as sulphur, as well as
- other renewable raw materials insofar as they comply with the requirements in accordance with subsection (5).