In Europe,
the official-type test method (oTT) according to the
standard European Norm (EN) 13240 evaluates the emissions and thermal
efficiency of firewood roomheaters only under optimal conditions,
that is, heated up and at nominal load. In this study a novel test
method, called “beReal”, is presented which was developed
to reflect real-life operation within the testing procedure. The beReal
test concept consists of a heating cycle with eight consecutive batches
and covers all typical phases of real-life operation. A specific procedure
based on volume flow measurements evaluating the emission and the
efficiency of the whole test cycle was defined. A comparative assessment
of the beReal and EN test protocol was conducted with a serial-production
stove and compared with oTT results. The repeatability of EN and beReal
test results regarding emissions and thermal efficiency was evaluated.
The EN test results of this study were more than 200% higher compared
to oTT results of the used stove model. Hence, it seems that the tested
product during oTT differs from the serial-production products. The
thermal efficiency of beReal tests was significantly lower compared
to EN test results. However, regarding emissions, no significant differences
were observed by the comparative tests according to both test protocols
with the serial-production stove. An implementation of the beReal
test protocol as a quality label or standard combined with market
surveillance should be considered as an instrument to push innovation
and technological development further and to enable better differentiation
of good and poor products for the end customer.
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