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Fireplace & Woodstove Indoor Air Quality Improvement Guide InspectAPedia®  -     Key strategies for Improving indoor air quality Removing or keeping out indoor contaminants Home ventilation strategies Best methods for cleaning & filtering indoor air

Here we discuss the impact of fireplaces or woodstoves on indoor air quality in homes. This article includes excerpts or adaptations from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss, courtesy of Wiley & Sons. See ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY for our full list of environmental hazard identification and remedy related to buildings

© Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, Steve Bliss, Wiley & Sons, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Guide to Fireplaces & Woodstoves as Sources of Indoor Air Pollutants

According to Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction:

Traditional open fireplaces and older leaky woodstoves burn very inefficiently and produce hundreds of chemical compounds, including carbon monoxide, organic gases, particulates, and some of the same cancer-causing agents found in tobacco smoke. Minor spillage of these pollutants occurs regularly, primarily when starting or stoking the fire. However, the larger concern is when the fire smolders late at night, producing high levels of CO and a weak draft. Backdrafting at this time can be dangerous or even fatal.

Another problem, particularly with fireplaces, is created when the fire is roaring and drawing up to 400 cfm of combustion air. At this point, its voracious appetite for air can cause backdrafting in other combustion appliances such as a gas water heater. Also, the need to reheat all the makeup air drags down the fireplace’s heating efficiency to less than 15% and, if the fireplace is allowed to smolder all night, it becomes a net heat loser.

Woodstove efficiency has improved dramatically in response to EPA emissions standards (begun in 1988 and updated in 1990), which apply to most freestanding wood stoves and to fireplace inserts with air-supply controls and tight-fitting doors. To meet these standards, manufacturers use either a catalytic converter, similar to the ones used in cars, or a reengineered firebox. The new fireboxes have primary and secondary combustion zones capable of reaching system efficiencies of 60% or more and reducing combustion air intake to as little as 10 cfm. If installed with an outdoor air supply, these can be successfully de- coupled from household air pressures.

While many fireplaces are fitted with glass doors, and some have outside air intakes, nearly all of the glass doors leak air. Even with low levels of depressurization, these fireplaces can still backdraft, and the fireplace’s outdoor air supply might become the makeup air for the kitchen range hood or other exhaust fans, drawing fireplace fumes along with it. The best solution is an airtight fireplace insert.

To minimize pollution, indoors and outside, from wood-burning appliances

• Choose a properly sized stove or insert certified as meeting EPA emissions standards.
• Make sure the door gaskets are in good shape, the doors fit tightly, and the stove is free of air leaks.
• Make sure the flue is the correct diameter and height, and have it inspected and cleaned annually.
• Use wood that has been split and dried for at least six months. Try to use small pieces, and do not overload the firebox. Leave enough room for air to circulate freely around the wood.
• For safety purposes, install a smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector in the same room as the woodstove or fireplace.

-- Adapted with permission from Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction.

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Technical Reviewers & References

• InspectAPedia.com^® - Daniel Friedman
• Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com.
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Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS GUIDE
AIR POLLUTANTS, COMMON INDOOR
ALLERGEN TESTS for BUILDINGS
ALLERGENS in BUILDINGS, RECOGNIZING
ALLERGY TESTS for PEOPLE
ALLERGY TEST ACCURACY
FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-priorities
FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP
MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MOLD
ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT INDOOR MOLD
INDOOR AIR QUALITY & HOUSE TIGHTNESS
INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE
  Health Effects of Air Pollutants
  Common Indoor Air Pollutants
  Key Strategies for Improving Indoor Air Quality
  Whole House Ventilation Strategies
  Exhaust-Only Ventilation
  Supply-Only Ventilation
  Balanced Ventilation
  Air Filtering Strategies
  Particles in Indoor Air - Chart
  Quick Guide to Gases
  Air-Cleaner Types
  Air Filter Effectiveness
  Real-World Effectiveness of Air Cleaners
  Finding & Reducing Air Pollutants
  Radon Hazards
  Formaldehyde Hazards
  Biological Pollutants
  Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs
  Pesticide Exposure Hazards
  Lead Exposure Hazards
  Asbestos Hazards
  Carpeting and Indoor Air Quality
  Combustion Appliance Contaminants
  Backdrafting Appliances
  Fireplace & Woodstove Contaminants
  INDOOR AIR HAZARDS TABLE
  INDOOR COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ
  ODORS, Smells, Gases in Buildings-Diagnosis & Cure
INDOOR AIR QUALITY METHODS COMPARED
LEAD POISONING HAZARDS GUIDE
MILDEW in BUILDINGS ?
MILDEW ERRORS - MOLD PHOTOS
MILDEW REMOVAL & PREVENTION
MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS
MOLD ACTION GUIDE - WHAT TO DO ABOUT MOLD
MOLD ATLAS & PARTICLES INDEX
MOLD BY MICROSCOPE
MOLD CLASSES, HAZARD LEVELS
MOLD CLEANERS - WHAT TO USE
MOLD CLEANUP COMPANIES
MOLD CLEANUP GUIDE- HOW TO GET RID OF MOLD
MOLD DETECTION & INSPECTION GUIDE
ODORS, Smells, Gases in Buildings-Diagnosis & Cure
RENTERS & TENANTS GUIDE TO MOLD
SEWAGE BACKUP TEST & CLEANUP
STAIN DIAGNOSIS
TECHNICAL & LAB PROCEDURES
THERMAL TRACKING

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building design, inspection, and repair, and about indoor environment testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
• Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Wiley.com and also at Amazon.com. See our book review of this publication.

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