“Clean Air” Program Available for Owners of Recreational Fireplaces? – A Change in Regulations Is Coming

The Clean Air Program is a government initiative aimed at improving air quality in Poland by supporting investments in the modernization of heating systems and thermal retrofitting of residential buildings.

The initiative is addressed to private individuals – owners and co-owners of real estate.

Funding under the „Clean Air” program may be applied for by individuals whose annual income declared in the most recent tax return did not exceed PLN 135,000.

Apart from exceeding the income threshold, a potential beneficiary of the funding must meet a number of other requirements. 

One of the conditions for receiving financial support, according to the new version of the program from December 2024, was disconnecting so-called local space heaters from the chimney system – which in practice meant… dismantling home fireplaces. 

However, this provision met with considerable opposition, both from potential program participants and from fireplace equipment manufacturers.

It seems, however, that the strong protest, especially from the association of fireplace manufacturers, has had an effect.

On February 3, 2025 the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management issued a statement responding positively to the appeals of manufacturers and fireplace owners. 

The NFOŚiGW Is Working on a New Version of the Clean Air Program – Changes Concern Domestic Fireplaces

In a statement published on the „X” platform, we read:

In connection with the publications appearing, we inform that after consultations, we have taken into account the proposals of the industry to restore in the new version of the Clean Air program the provisions concerning fireplaces.

According to the currently prepared draft of the new program (...) it is possible to keep in the building/residential unit a local space heater for solid fuels (used for recreational purposes) that meets ecodesign requirements. The new „Clean Air” program will be presented soon.

This declaration gives hope to owners of domestic fireplaces. 

However, fireplace enthusiasts will have to meet certain environmental requirements.

What Standards Will a Fireplace Have to Meet?

Fireplaces accepted under the program will be those with a closed combustion chamber, fueled by wood or ecological, low-emission biomass fuels such as pellets or briquettes. These fuels can be purchased ready-made or produced much more cheaply independently using a pellet production machine or a briquetting machine.

(If you want to learn more about fireplace briquettes, check our other article)

Assistance for applicants is provided by the Institute of Environmental Protection.

The ZUM list available on the organization’s website ZUM list allows you to search for heating equipment in the system and check whether it meets emission requirements. 

The equipment must be previously registered by the manufacturer.

On the IOŚ website we can read that:

1. Manufacturers, authorized representatives of the manufacturer, importers and distributors of devices/materials intended for installation in single-family residential buildings and in residential units located in multi-family residential buildings may apply for registration on the ZUM List (...)

as well as::

7. The application for placing a device/material on the ZUM List will be reviewed by the ZUM List Administrator within no more than 30 working days from the submission of a complete online form. In justified cases, this period may be changed, about which the ZUM List Administrator will inform the applicant. 

In such a situation, however, it is difficult to determine the fate of households with old domestic fireplaces without an official manufacturer. It is possible that in such a case an official chimney inspection and subsequent replacement of old installation elements will be required.

We Await the Final Version of the „Clean Air” 2025

The online assurances of the NFOŚiGW are at this moment only an announcement of changes to the regulations. The institution informs that the final version of the „Clean Air” program will be made available in the near future, as soon as the final work on the new draft is completed.

For those counting on participation in the funding, for now it remains to wait patiently and refrain for the time being from dismantling their home fireplace – as there is a strong chance that it will remain in place.