The study examines the effect of the kindling method, combustion air supply, and chimney draft conditions on the concentrations of pollutants in flue gases produced during wood combustion in households. Experimental results show that, in particular, air supply beneath the fuel and top-down firing lead to lower CO and OGC emissions, while improper firing conditions can increase emissions. The study demonstrates that the right combination of operating conditions and user behavior is key to reducing the impact of local heating on air quality.

The second part of the paper summarises the results of field observations of operational errors in residential solid-fuel boilers and their relationship to real-world emissions and efficiency. Based on 111 measurements, boiler performance under everyday operating conditions was evaluated, including user practices, maintenance quality, and fuel characteristics. The most common issues included worn nozzles, leaking doors, use of non-approved or wet fuel, insufficient cleaning, improper refuelling practices, and failures of burners or fuel feeders. The results confirm that real-life boiler operation may differ substantially from laboratory certification conditions and that both emissions and efficiency are strongly influenced by user behaviour. Significant improvements can be achieved through better maintenance, correct operation, and improved user awareness.

This part of the paper focuses on the most common installation defects identified during the field assessment of 93 residential solid-fuel boiler installations, based on a dataset of 111 operational measurements. The evaluation primarily addressed deficiencies affecting boiler safety, reliability, and operating conditions, including incorrect placement of the safety valve, absence of thermal storage, missing overheat protection, insufficient protection against low-temperature corrosion, improperly designed or faulty expansion vessels, and inadequate air supply to the boiler room. The results show that many of these defects do not directly increase emissions, but they significantly reduce safety, equipment lifetime, and the conditions required for proper operation. The study confirms the importance of proper system design, installation quality, and technical inspection.

The second part of the article focuses on the practical application of oxidation catalysts in household stoves and other small combustion sources. It describes the reasons for their growing importance in light of increasingly stringent emission requirements and safety standards for flue gas pathways. Attention is also given to operation and maintenance, particularly the risk of clogging by particulate matter and the need for regular cleaning. The text summarizes available market solutions, including both appliances with integrated catalysts and retrofit units for flue pipes, and supplements them with an overview of the most common myths. The conclusion provides a brief overview of current research, ranging from Pt–Pd systems to metal oxides and perovskites.

Oxidation catalysts are gaining traction in household stoves and other small biomass combustion sources as a means of reducing emissions generated during actual operation. The greatest problems arise during startup, stoking, and burn-out, when concentrations of carbon monoxide and organic gaseous pollutants increase. The first part of the article explains why these emissions are significant in local heating systems, which pollutants the catalyst helps to reduce, and why laboratory results often differ from actual household operation. At the same time, it clearly explains the principle of catalytic afterburning in the flue gas path and demonstrates why this is a promising secondary measure that complements, rather than replaces, high-quality combustion.

The second part analyses the potential of corona discharge for the removal of gaseous pollutants and presents a critical review of commercial solutions and their evaluation. Unresolved engineering challenges and the future perspectives of ESP systems are also discussed.

Residential biomass combustion appliances are among the most significant sources of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions during the heating season. The tightening of European and national regulations, together with the exhaustion of the potential for design optimisation of combustion devices, makes secondary flue gas cleaning technologies a necessity, with electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) representing a promising solution in this context. This paper is composed of two parts. The first part systematises data on the properties of aerosol particles from small-scale biomass combustion sources, describes the principle of electrostatic precipitation, and presents the design types of residential ESPs.

Apartment buildings often deal with the question whether it is preferable to install gas boiler in every apartment or to build boiler room and transport heat to apartments. The article proposes a procedure to obtain information for decision.

The physical properties of heat transfer fluids affect the design of all the components of heating systems, which in practice are in most cases dimensioned for water flow, which is later replaced by another liquid for which designers do not have the necessary data.

Based on the investigation of the impact of low-temperature large-area radiant systems during the heating season on the thermal comfort of office spaces, it can be concluded that they are capable of providing the required thermal performance during the heating season, as declared by the manufacturer.

A comparison of the calculation of the volume of the storage tank to boilers with manual application of wood in a family house according to the criteria of subsidy programs and the ČSN EN 303-5 standard shows a relative agreement, respectively the acceptability of the use of both methods. The standard provides a minimum value. In practice, the resulting volume usually consists of two tanks.

This article presents a simulation analysis conducted at the Institute of Environmental Engineering at CTU, as part of the international exercise IEA EBC Annex 82. The aim of the joint exercise, which involved more than ten international research teams from different sectors, was to test and compare different approaches towards achieving energy flexibility in buildings on the basis of a unified exercise assignment. The Czech team based its study on a comprehensive simulation of the energy behaviour of buildings, including a detailed numerical model of the heating, hot water preparation, cooling and ventilation systems. The model was used to study the building potential for providing energy flexibility and future responsibilities of building operators in the context of smart energy grids.

The article discusses the history of sanitation installation, i.e. water installation, drainage systems inside buildings and gas installation pipework for buildings from the earliest times to 1948 and is primarily focused on the history of this field in the territory of the former Czechoslovakia. It also deals with the history of the plumbing trade, contemporary legal regulations, technical standards and professional literature on the territory of the former Czechoslovakia.

The efficiency of the combustion source during the mandatory inspection of the heating and ventilation system according to the Energy Management Act can only be measured during the heating season and with a properly calibrated flue gas analyzer.