Chimney sweep in Riga centre - Art Nouveau buildings, gas boilers and fireplaces

A gas boiler in a flat: replacement and certificate

In Riga more than 26 thousand properties are heated with gas: flats, private houses, offices and other buildings (Gaso, 2024). If your flat has a wall-mounted gas boiler in an old brick channel and it has to be replaced, Riga rules allow it to be replaced with a new ecodesign boiler of up to 50 kW if the fuel does not change. The application to the municipality needs a certificate of the technical condition of the existing appliance, the flues and the natural ventilation ducts, and the new boiler must be registered with the Riga Energy Agency.

Gaso's simplified procedure for replacing gas appliances requires the same: a certificate of the condition of the flue and ventilation ducts. During the inspection the channel is cleaned, the draught is measured and, if needed, the channel is inspected with a camera, and the certificate records whether the new boiler may be connected. A condensing boiler in an old channel usually needs a liner: liner for a gas boiler and chimney check for a gas boiler.

Zones in the centre: what may no longer be installed

According to the municipal zoning map, central Riga is mostly in zone I; this is our reading of the map, so check your address in the GeoRiga layer. In zone I, when you change the type of heating or install a new appliance, neither solid fuel nor gas appliances may be installed; district heating or zero-emission solutions such as a heat pump are allowed. Replacing an existing gas boiler with a new one using the same fuel remains allowed. From 1 January 2031 new fossil fuel appliances will be banned throughout Riga.

Fireplaces and stoves in old flats

Large flats in the centre often still have tiled stoves and fireplaces. The programme notes that in Centrs the modelled benzo(a)pyrene concentration exceeds the target value in residential areas where individual wood heating is widely used. If you use a fireplace or stove, the flue must be cleaned by 1 November, and in an apartment building a certificate is always drawn up. Before it is lit for the first time in many years, the channel should be checked with a camera, because it may be bricked up or connected to another flat.

More: fireplace cleaning and tiled stove cleaning. Burning out soot is banned, even if the channel is very dirty.

Hotels, restaurants and offices

The centre has many hotels, restaurants and offices. A restaurant fireplace or wood stove flue must be cleaned according to the appliance type, and a certificate is needed every time. Hotels and offices with mechanical ventilation must have it checked and cleaned once every five years, with photos or video in the certificate. From 01.01.2027 these services may only be provided by a person with appropriate professional training and under a written contract. On work for businesses: chimney sweep for businesses.

Access in the centre

In the centre vehicle access is often restricted, and there are few parking spaces. In the request, write whether we can drive into the yard, who will unlock the attic and whether there is a way out onto the roof. On tall Art Nouveau roofs without a safe point to climb out, the flue is cleaned from below through the cleaning door and the channel is inspected with a camera: chimney cleaning from below.

Price and nearby neighbourhoods

Flue cleaning costs from €100, usually €100–130, with the certificate and call-out. The inspection before a boiler replacement, the ventilation check and chimney lining are priced for your situation: the price depends on the length of the channel, the floor, access to the roof and materials. Prices: prices.

Nearby: Vecrīga, Avoti, Brasa and Grīziņkalns. All of Riga: chimney sweep in Riga.