HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (AP) – Suffolk County has moved to restrict the use of outdoor boilers, which have become popular with folks wanting to use wood to heat their homes.

The boilers are large burn boxes outside the house that heat water which is then pumped through baseboard heating vents inside the house. Critics say the boilers create air pollution from the burning wood.

The law, which was passed this week by the Suffolk County Legislature and would take effect 90 days after it’s signed by the county executive, bans use of the boilers within 1,000 feet of another home.

The state Legislature is considering a similar law.

Suffolk Legislator Jack Eddington said smoke from the boilers keeps neighbors from opening their windows; in one case, a black smoke cloud appeared over six to eight homes.