Heating homes: What are Italy's rules on using fires and wood burners?
If you're planning to heat your Italian home using a wood or pellet-burning stove or fireplace this winter, there are some regional restrictions to be aware of.
Many households in Italy have a fireplace or wood burner, and the number is only growing.
In the first half of 2022, sales of wood- or pellet-burning stoves rose by 28 percent against the same period last year as people sought alternative, and potentially more affordable, heating systems amid the European energy crisis.
Many however have found that these systems are not as affordable as hoped, with the price of wood pellets soaring in Italy throughout 2022.
As well as costs, there are also varying regional rules to consider which regulate the use of stoves and fireplaces.
In fact, five Italian regions – Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany – currently have laws banning residents from using low-efficiency wood burners, backed up by fines of up to €5,000.
What’s the point of these rules?
Regional laws banning the use of low-performance wood burners were introduced well before the current energy crisis to reduce CO2 (carbon dioxide) and PM (particulate matter) emissions across the country.
In 2017, the Italian government established five different energy classes for wood-burning heating systems and allocated a set number of ‘stars’ to each category.
The lower the number of stars, the greater the ecological impact (i.e. the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere) of the wood burner, with ratings from one to five stars.
For a full breakdown of the five energy classes recognised by the Italian government and to know what types of stoves and fireplaces belong in each category, see this extract from the most recent law dating from 2017.
What rules are in place and where?
Laws on wood burners vary from region to region, so here’s a brief overview of the rules enforced by each of the five above-mentioned regions.
Lombardy – As of January 1st, 2020, all Lombardy residents are banned from using wood stoves or fireplaces with an energy rating lower than four stars.
Only pellets of the A1 type (i.e. with residual ash lower than 0.7 percent) can be used for pellet-burning stoves with a maximum heat output (potenza termica nominale) of under 35 kW (kilowatts).
Fines for those breaking the rules range from €500 to €5,000, though it's unclear how or how strictly the rules are enforced.
Bans on low-efficiency wood burners were introduced long before the European energy crisis to reduce CO2 and PM (particulate matter) emissions across the country. Photo by Stephane DE SAKUTIN / AFP
Veneto – Veneto forbids the use of wood stoves or fireplaces with an energy rating lower than three stars.
Also, people looking to install a new wood burner must ensure that the stove or fireplace in question has an energy rating of at least four stars.
Piedmont – As of October 1st, 2019, Piedmont residents are banned from using wood-burning heating systems with a maximum heat output (potenza termica nominale) lower than 35 kW and an energy rating lower than three stars.
Residents can only install new wood burners with a maximum heat output of 35 kW or more and an energy rating of at least four stars.
For additional details on the rules currently enforced in Piedmont, refer to the following website.
In Lombardy, only pellets of the A1 type can be used for pellet-burning stoves with a maximum heat output lower than 35 kW. Photo by Ivo PANASYUK / AFP
Emilia-Romagna – Things get slightly more complicated in Emilia-Romagna, where residents are banned from using wood stoves or fireplaces with an energy rating lower than three stars if their homes have an alternative heating system and they live in municipalities (comuni) whose elevation is less than 300 metres above sea level.
Emilia-Romagna also currently offers financial incentives for those who reside in one of the following comuni and choose to replace their old stoves or fireplaces with latest-generation heating systems with a five-star energy rating.
For further information about the rules currently in place in Emilia-Romagna, please consult energy regulator ARPAE’s website.
Tuscany – In Tuscany, limits on the use of wood burners depend on the PM10 (particulate matter less than 10 micrometres in diameter) emissions of each comune, according to rules set out in a regional decree.
In municipalities that exceed the permitted amount of daily PM10 emissions, residents are then banned from using stoves or fireplaces with an energy rating lower than three stars, unless wood burners are their only available source of heating or they live in comuni with an elevation of 200 metres above sea level or more.
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Many households in Italy have a fireplace or wood burner, and the number is only growing.
In the first half of 2022, sales of wood- or pellet-burning stoves rose by 28 percent against the same period last year as people sought alternative, and potentially more affordable, heating systems amid the European energy crisis.
Many however have found that these systems are not as affordable as hoped, with the price of wood pellets soaring in Italy throughout 2022.
As well as costs, there are also varying regional rules to consider which regulate the use of stoves and fireplaces.
In fact, five Italian regions – Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany – currently have laws banning residents from using low-efficiency wood burners, backed up by fines of up to €5,000.
What’s the point of these rules?
Regional laws banning the use of low-performance wood burners were introduced well before the current energy crisis to reduce CO2 (carbon dioxide) and PM (particulate matter) emissions across the country.
In 2017, the Italian government established five different energy classes for wood-burning heating systems and allocated a set number of ‘stars’ to each category.
The lower the number of stars, the greater the ecological impact (i.e. the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere) of the wood burner, with ratings from one to five stars.
For a full breakdown of the five energy classes recognised by the Italian government and to know what types of stoves and fireplaces belong in each category, see this extract from the most recent law dating from 2017.
What rules are in place and where?
Laws on wood burners vary from region to region, so here’s a brief overview of the rules enforced by each of the five above-mentioned regions.
Lombardy – As of January 1st, 2020, all Lombardy residents are banned from using wood stoves or fireplaces with an energy rating lower than four stars.
Only pellets of the A1 type (i.e. with residual ash lower than 0.7 percent) can be used for pellet-burning stoves with a maximum heat output (potenza termica nominale) of under 35 kW (kilowatts).
Fines for those breaking the rules range from €500 to €5,000, though it's unclear how or how strictly the rules are enforced.
Veneto – Veneto forbids the use of wood stoves or fireplaces with an energy rating lower than three stars.
Also, people looking to install a new wood burner must ensure that the stove or fireplace in question has an energy rating of at least four stars.
Piedmont – As of October 1st, 2019, Piedmont residents are banned from using wood-burning heating systems with a maximum heat output (potenza termica nominale) lower than 35 kW and an energy rating lower than three stars.
Residents can only install new wood burners with a maximum heat output of 35 kW or more and an energy rating of at least four stars.
For additional details on the rules currently enforced in Piedmont, refer to the following website.
Emilia-Romagna – Things get slightly more complicated in Emilia-Romagna, where residents are banned from using wood stoves or fireplaces with an energy rating lower than three stars if their homes have an alternative heating system and they live in municipalities (comuni) whose elevation is less than 300 metres above sea level.
Emilia-Romagna also currently offers financial incentives for those who reside in one of the following comuni and choose to replace their old stoves or fireplaces with latest-generation heating systems with a five-star energy rating.
For further information about the rules currently in place in Emilia-Romagna, please consult energy regulator ARPAE’s website.
Tuscany – In Tuscany, limits on the use of wood burners depend on the PM10 (particulate matter less than 10 micrometres in diameter) emissions of each comune, according to rules set out in a regional decree.
In municipalities that exceed the permitted amount of daily PM10 emissions, residents are then banned from using stoves or fireplaces with an energy rating lower than three stars, unless wood burners are their only available source of heating or they live in comuni with an elevation of 200 metres above sea level or more.
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