Burn Wise EPA

Step 1: Confirm Applicability Determine whether your wood-burning appliance (woodstove, fireplace, or hydronic heater/outdoor wood boiler) falls within the scope of the Burn Wise voluntary program. Note that as of October 30, 2025, the program is no longer actively updated, but the EPA-certified wood heater database and voluntary hang tag guidelines remain available.

Step 2: Review Voluntary Emission Standards Download and review EPA's voluntary emission limits for your appliance category. For fireplaces, limits are expressed in pounds of particle pollution per million BTUs; for hydronic heaters, in grams per kilogram of fuel burned.

Step 3: Identify an EPA-Recognized Test Laboratory Select an EPA-recognized third-party test laboratory from EPA's list of approved test labs. The lab must be proficiency-tested under EPA's Wood Burning Appliance Test Lab Proficiency Test Program.

Step 4: Conduct Emissions Testing Have your appliance tested at the recognized lab against the applicable voluntary emission standard. Ensure all test methods used are currently approved by EPA (note: ALT-125 and ALT-127 have been withdrawn).

Step 5: Compile and Submit Test Results to EPA Prepare a submission package including lab test reports and relevant product documentation. Submit to EPA for review and approval.

Step 6: Receive EPA-Qualified Status Upon EPA's review and approval of your test results, your appliance receives EPA-qualified status. You may then display the voluntary hang tag on qualifying products at point of sale.

Step 7: Consult NSPS Requirements for Mandatory Compliance If your product also requires mandatory certification under EPA's Wood Heater New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), pursue that process separately through EPA's regulatory compliance pathway.

The Burn Wise program evaluates wood-burning appliances against EPA's voluntary emission limits for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Assessment is conducted by EPA-recognized third-party test laboratories using standardized test methods.

Woodstoves: Evaluated against voluntary emission limits for particulate matter output, typically expressed in grams per hour (g/hr). The voluntary standards under Burn Wise were generally more stringent than the pre-2020 mandatory NSPS limits, encouraging manufacturers to meet the cleaner 2020 NSPS Step 2 thresholds ahead of regulatory deadlines.

Fireplaces: Tested for particle pollution output expressed in pounds of particulate matter per million BTUs (lbs/MMBtu) of heat output. EPA's voluntary fireplace program sets specific thresholds that qualifying units must not exceed.

Hydronic Heaters (Outdoor Wood Boilers): Evaluated on a grams-per-kilogram (g/kg) of fuel burned basis. EPA established Phase 2 voluntary emission limits for outdoor wood boilers that were significantly more stringent than Phase 1 limits, incentivizing manufacturers to develop cleaner technology.

All testing must be conducted using EPA-approved test methods. The withdrawal of broadly applicable alternative test methods ALT-125 and ALT-127 means manufacturers must use currently approved methods. EPA reviews submitted test data before granting qualified status and permission to display the voluntary hang tag.

The Burn Wise program occupied a niche but meaningful space in the U.S. residential heating appliance market, serving as a voluntary bridge between older, less stringent mandatory NSPS standards and the more demanding 2020 NSPS Step 2 requirements. By encouraging manufacturers to voluntarily meet tighter emission limits ahead of regulatory deadlines, the program helped accelerate the market transition to cleaner-burning appliances. The EPA-qualified hang tag became a recognized point-of-sale differentiator, particularly in markets where air quality regulators and local governments encouraged or required the use of cleaner wood heaters.

Adoption was concentrated among leading U.S. and some international wood-burning appliance manufacturers, particularly those selling into states with strict air quality regulations such as California, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. State and local air agencies, as well as wood stove changeout programs funded through EPA grants, frequently referenced Burn Wise qualified status as a criterion for rebate eligibility. However, the program was always voluntary and never achieved universal industry adoption — many manufacturers chose to meet only the mandatory NSPS floor rather than pursue the voluntary qualification.

The program's closure in 2025 reflects the maturation of the regulatory landscape: the 2020 NSPS Step 2 standards now mandate emission limits that are comparable to or more stringent than what Burn Wise previously incentivized voluntarily. The mandatory certification database (EPA-certified wood heater database) has effectively superseded the voluntary program's market differentiation function. Going forward, the relevant benchmark for consumers and regulators is EPA certification under NSPS, not Burn Wise qualified status.

The Burn Wise program was launched by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 (with active partnership operations beginning around 2009) in response to growing evidence that residential wood burning was a significant contributor to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in many U.S. communities. At the time, EPA's mandatory Wood Heater New Source Performance Standards had not been substantially updated since 1988, leaving a regulatory gap between what the law required and what cleaner technology could achieve. Burn Wise was designed to fill that gap voluntarily by encouraging manufacturers to produce and market appliances that burned more cleanly than the law required.

Over its operational life from 2009 to 2025, the program established voluntary emission tiers for woodstoves, fireplaces, and outdoor wood boilers (hydronic heaters), and maintained a public database of qualified products. The program supported EPA's broader PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards attainment goals and was used by state and local agencies as a reference for wood stove changeout programs and incentive schemes. When EPA finalized the updated Wood Heater NSPS in 2015 (with Step 2 limits taking effect in 2020), the mandatory standards began to converge with Burn Wise's voluntary thresholds. By 2025, with the 2020 NSPS Step 2 standards fully in force, the voluntary program had largely served its purpose, and EPA formally closed it on October 30, 2025, retaining the website as a historical record.