Armidale Dumaresq Council (ADC) is offering up to $1,000 to residents in Armidale City to remove a wood heater in the main living area of their home and replace it with electricity or flued gas.
Visit the ADC website www.armidale.nsw.gov.au and look under “Environment’ and then “Air Quality and Woodsmoke’ for more information about the rebate and to see the full list of approved alternatives.
People in Armidale City are choosing to remove their wood heaters for various reasons, says Carol Davies, ADC’s Sustainability Coordinator.
“The main reasons people want to replace wood heaters are: the mess from kindling and firewood; difficulties sourcing, splitting and storing firewood; concerns about contributing to local air pollution.”
“Council provides rebates to replace wood heaters as a strategy to get rid of old heaters being used. Most often the heaters that are removed are old and inefficient and don’t meet set standards on emission levels,” said Ms Davies.
Emission levels are based on grams of PM2.5 (fine particle pollution) per kilogram of wood burnt. Smoke from wood heaters is a significant source of winter air pollution in Armidale, and there is a substantial body of scientific evidence linking the fine particles in wood smoke to a number of serious health problems.
“Reducing emissions from each individual chimney is important, especially when you consider that one chimney can produce 9kg of fine particle pollution over winter,” said Ms Davies.
“This calculation is based on three tonnes of wood burnt over winter, in a wood heater with emission levels of 3g/kg. It is worth noting that 3g/kg is the upper limit of Armidale’s local regulatory requirement for installing a new wood heater, and Armidale’s requirement is more stringent than the national requirement of 4g/kg.”
Offering $1,000 rebates to residents to replace their wood heaters is just one initiative. Contact Carol Davies on 6770 3686 if you would like more information about this rebate, or other initiatives, or to receive a Wood Heater Education Kit.
