The paper will present the most recent developments meant for abatement of the particulate matter emissions (PM) produced by small combustion installations (SCIs). A development of a prototype design of the new micro-scale electrostatic precipitator will be described. Apparatus is meant to reduce emission from the SCIs fuelled with solid fuels. SCIs are a common sources of a useful heat in the domestic sector, and when fuelled with solid fuels are also found to be a major source of smoke. It is due to a fact the these are the sources of so called short-stack emissions of particulate matter. A new technical solution offers efficient removal of PM from flue gasses be electrostatic mechanism. A well-known industrial technique was modified to account for technical, economic and safety requirements specific for domestic sector. A prototype design includes an innovative, automatic mechanism for self-cleaning of the settling electrode. The feature limits the frequency of required maintenance by man, thus increasing reliability of the apparatus. The results of laboratory experiments as well as field testing in the real-life conditions are provided and discussed.