Residential heating
Residential heating with coal and wood in small stoves and boilers is a major source to global warming and toxic air pollution.
In Europe, Canada, Rusia, China and many other regions, residential heating with wood and coal is the dominating source to health hazardous and climate damaging air pollution with soot (black carbon) and particulate matter (PM2.5) significantly increasing mortality and morbidity. In poorer regions in Africa, India, Asia, etc., wood burning for cooking (heating) causes same harmful pollution.
Simple technical solutions (better insulation, district heating and heat pumps) can eliminate climate and air pollution from residential heating and thereby significantly improve public health.
The most essential knowledge on outdoor air pollution from wood stoves: PPT – use freely by acknowledging the source
Watch video – Clip 1 Watch video – Clip 2 Watch video – Clip 3
Publications for download:
Brief – Measurements of ultrafine particles from wood stoves
Cost-benefit: Electrostatic precipitators for wood stoves
Pollution from residential burning
The Consumer Ombudsman’s ruling on misleading marketing of wood stoves – includes the complaint
Beyond Bioenergy – CSO Statement
Policy brief – Ecodesign regulations on solid fuel heating
Comments on the ecodesign and energy labelling draft working documents for solid fuel heating (August 2025)
Scientific literature on the health burden of residential heating with wood.
Healthy Indoor Environment’s campaign website on:
Indoor particle pollution from wood burning
Green Global Future promotes clean heat by:
- Participating in several European networks focused on clean heating.
- Regulations to enhance heat pumps (individual and in district heating).
- Policies to stimulate better insulation and other heat saving actions.
- Engaging with progressive stakeholders incl. clean-tech suppliers.
- Efficient policies to avoid new fossil fuel or wood-based heating.
- Taxes and bans on heating with fossil fuel and woody biomass.
- Inclusion of CO2 from biomass burning in national CO2-inventories.
- Arranging international conferences on best practice and solutions.
- Presswork to highlight both pollution and the many technical solutions.
- Pollution measurements inside/outside houses with wood/coal heating
