• The President of UOKiK verifies whether solid fuel boilers meet the requirements specified in the regulations.
• So far, 6.4 thousand online sales offers have been eliminated, and proceedings are being conducted against 11 entrepreneurs - these are some of the results of UOKiK's efforts.
• An entrepreneur responsible for selling a boiler not complying with the requirements may be obliged to buy it back and disassemble it.
• Watch the video from the test and see what kind of danger a faulty boiler may pose.

Heating period is around the corner - this is the moment when many of us consider replacing or buying a boiler to heat the apartment. What to pay attention to? While in the store, we have to find an energy label on the boiler that indicates if it is energy and cost-efficient. This is indicated by the energy efficiency class. A+++ stands for the highest energy efficiency, D for the lowest.

Since the beginning of the year, the Trade Inspection Authority has been checking the quality and labelling (marking) of solid fuel boilers. The inspection covers boilers available in retail chains as well as from manufacturers and online sales offers. During the inspection, the boilers are also referred to the laboratory tests.

– Clean air, health and safety of Polish consumers is our priority. We are stepping up our control activities aimed at eliminating the so-called "soot-spewing stoves" from the market. By the end of the year we expect to have 25 other models of boilers checked in laboratory tests. Intensified inspections in the stores are also underway all the time - inspectors check, inter alia, the reliability of consumer information and compliance with legal requirements in the technical documentation, declarations of conformity, CE marking, energy labels. Using special software, we also verify thousands of offers posted on the Internet, removing those involving soot-spewing stoves – says Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

Recent boiler control results

From the beginning of the year to mid-September, Trade Inspection Authority inspectors have checked 319 models of solid fuel boilers available in distribution - in most cases they controlled the attached documentation. 25 boiler models were referred for laboratory tests. Out of the boilers tested so far, 7 failed to meet the requirements due to, inter alia, excessive emission of dust, nitrogen oxides or carbon monoxide or an over-declared seasonal energy efficiency class (in fact, the boiler had a lower class than that declared by the manufacturer). During one of the laboratory tests, a video was made which shows the danger posed by a faulty boiler. In this case, smoke and dangerous gases, which pose a threat to human life and health, escape through a leaking hatch. Click and watch the video.

The boilers offered on popular platforms, e.g. Allegro.pl, OLX.pl, sprzedajemy.pl, lento.pl, gumtree.pl, gratka.pl. have also been subject to checks on on-going basis. From the beginning of the year to mid-September, UOKiK employees and the Trade Inspection Authority contested 6,428 auctions at which vendors offered non-compliant boilers. As a result, the President of UOKiK informed the owners of these platforms about the applicable regulations and requested these offers to be removed.

Under the agreement of 11 March 2020 between the President of UOKiK and Allegro.pl, the platform has taken steps to ensure that the offers placed via the platform cover solid fuel boilers that meet the requirements provided for in the applicable regulations. Moreover, Allegro.pl provided UOKiK with data of entities offering incompatible solid fuel boilers via their platform. This information was used in the inspections carried out by the Trade Inspection Authority.

Legislative work is currently underway to combat smog and energy poverty and to improve energy efficiency in buildings. The new regulations are aimed in particular at reducing the level of dusts emitted into the air by the communal and household sector. One of the proposed solutions is the establishment of the Central Building Emissions Register, which will be used to identify the sources of emissions. Both public and residential buildings are intended to be covered by the register. Owners of buildings or managers of buildings or premises using gas boilers, solid fuel boilers, tiled stoves, coal stoves shall be obliged to submit a written declaration to the commune head, mayor or city mayor regarding possession of such boilers. This way all sources of heat and fuel combustion shall be inventoried. Violation of the obligation to submit a declaration shall be punished as a minor offence.

Effects of actions undertaken by TIA and UOKiK

During the inspections of solid fuel boilers carried out by the provincial inspectorates of TIA, 45 entrepreneurs undertook voluntary corrective actions and supplemented the required information, e.g. about the proper type of combustion fuel. In 12 cases, the inspectors notified the law enforcement authorities of the suspicion of committing a crime involving the marketing of boilers that do not meet the requirements and may pose a threat to the environment.

Should it be found during laboratory tests that a solid fuel boiler does not meet the applicable parameters, once the investigation is completed, the President of UOKiK may order the withdrawal of the faulty boilers from the market, including uninstalling them from consumers' homes and buying back the equipment and disposing of it at the manufacturer's expense. To date, the President of UOKiK has initiated 11 administrative proceedings in the case of 59 models of solid-fuel boilers not complying with the requirements, which concerned the documentation issues, e.g. incorrectly drawn up declaration of conformity and incomplete information or lack thereof in the instructions for use and installation, as well as inconsistencies found during testing. In the course of proceedings, entrepreneurs voluntarily undertake corrective actions, mainly concerning irregularities in the documentation.

Hints and advices for consumers

Consumer, are you buying a solid fuel boiler? Pay attention to:

• CE marking - every boiler must be labelled with it.
• Boiler design - e.g. quality of welds, sharp edges that may injure the person operating the boiler.
• Boiler equipment - the boiler must be equipped with safety valves, e.g. at the controller with an easily accessible safety temperature limiter (STB) - a system that protects the heat generator against overheating. It should be equipped with swirlers, which are mounted in the boilers' flue gas ducts. They distort the flue gas flow to boost heat exchange between the flue gas and the water circulating in the boiler exchanger, thus ensuring high efficiency of the unit. The boiler should not be equipped with an auxiliary grate.
• Materials used in the boiler chamber - in case of coal-fired boilers, check if the furnace is fitted with ceramic elements that accumulate heat. This ensures high temperature at which the volatile substances emitted from the fuel are burned thoroughly and reduces the emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere.
• Indication of the type of fuel that may be combusted in the boiler - the more fuel types may be used, the lower the efficiency of the device may be. What is more, using a fuel other than the one indicated by the manufacturer may increase the emission of harmful compounds into the atmosphere or damage the boiler. Also make sure that in the area where you live it is not forbidden to use this particular type of fuel.
• Boiler efficiency indicated by the manufacturer - the higher the boiler efficiency, the more heat can be generated from a single portion of fuel, and thus less heat is consumed, without compromising the residents' thermal comfort.
• Fuel feeding mode - whether the fuel is fed manually or automatically - automatic fuel feeding saves your time.
• Fuel combustion type - boilers with lower combustion consume less fuel. In such furnaces, only a small part of the fuel fed in the lower part of the feeding hopper is combusted, so the fuel lasts for longer.
• Feeding hopper capacity in automatic feeding mode - how long the boiler will keep heating without refeeding.
• Cleaning method - products of combustion (e.g. soot) settle on the elements of the boiler and may reduce its efficiency or even cause self-ignition. Easy access to the furnace will enable maintaining the device at an appropriate efficiency level. The boiler may be equipped with a semi-automatic cleaning system, which will make it easier to ensure its efficiency. If special tools (e.g. special brushes) are required for cleaning and maintenance, these should be supplied with the boiler.
• Hazard pictograms provided by the manufacturer, e.g. marking of surfaces that may heat up during operation or indicating electrical hazard - the manufacturer should minimise the risks for the user during the operation of the boiler.
• User manual, which must be clear to you. From this manual you will learn how to install the boiler, what and how to combust. At the same time, the user manual or documentation attached to the boiler should include information on the disassembly, recycling or disposal of the boiler after the end of its operating life.
• Energy label you will find at the point of sale. It will help you compare offers and simplify the choice of a device that is both cost-efficient and energy-efficient. The most important parameter shown on the label is the energy efficiency class. Currently the scale is from A+++ (the most efficient) to D. The higher the class, the more efficient the boiler is and the less energy it uses to heat the rooms. Energy label examples and explanations are available on the website: www.uokik.gov.pl/kotly.
• Product information sheet, where you will find data such as the supplier's name or logo, supplier's model ID, energy efficiency class, rated heat output in kW, energy efficiency coefficient or seasonal energy efficiency of space heating, i.e. information on the boiler efficiency - the higher the better - and the level of emission of dust, carbon monoxide or nitrogen oxides, i.e. the impact of the boiler on air quality.

Below you will find limit values (the lower it is, the less harmful compounds the boiler emits):

Consumer, remember - if you buy a boiler that does not comply with the statutory requirements, you may incur high costs of disassembling an unauthorised device and buying a new one in the years to come. If you have doubts about the quality or marking of the boiler, please contact the Trade Inspection Authority.

Entrepreneur - do you sell or manufacture boilers? Read the requirements for these products. Remember - the entity responsible for selling a boiler not complying with the requirements may be obliged by competent authorities to buy it back and disassemble it.

Consumer support:

Phone: +48 801 440 220 or +48 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
E-mail: [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE]
Consumer ombudsmen – in your city/ town or district
Regional Consumer Centres: Phone: +48 22 299 60 90 – Dlakonsumenta.pl

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL