Green Heat News
A monthly news service for everyone
interested in renewable wood & pellet heating
August 2021
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Featured Stories
This letter from the EPA partially explains how and why the EPA approved an IDC (ALT-140) test method without a full certification test report using that method. NYSERDA and NESCAUM still have not produced certification level test data for their IDC method "although we [the EPA] understand that Alaska will be providing us with additional data demonstrating use of the ALT-140 for compliance testing."
Wood heat continues to expand in most New England states, while it falls in the Northwest. States promoting modern wood and pellet heating are reducing fossil heating fuel faster and building resilience to impacts of climate change. States should consider how to use and guide wood and pellet heating to suit their energy goals.
The result of electrifying everything at once is that demand for electricity is growing faster than renewable electricity is growing. Among the two biggest new electric loads is heat and transportation. That's why we need to aggressively promote pellet heat wherever possible.
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Forthcoming reports from AGH |
AGH has two reports coming out in the next 2 months. One is an extensive investigation into the world of energy audits and changes needed to better include wood heaters. AGH is working closely with the DOE, state weatherization programs, and energy audit software designers. The other is on the state of wood heating in Russia, the country with the largest forest reserves in the world and a massive opportunity to use wood and pellets to reduce heating fuels. If you have any insights or data for either initiative, please contact us.
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Focus on the Insurance Industry |
Canada has a far better system than the US when it comes to getting home insurance for homes with wood stoves. Insurers often ask the homeowner to get a WETT inspection of the stove first, to make sure its up to code. Has anyone had to provide proof of pro installation or a stove inspection to get home insurance in the US?
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Summer is the time to stock up on firewood. Starting around now, you already need to get at least partially seasoned wood if you plan to use it in November. Add solar panels so that you run your home in a sustainable way. Investments like this really do pay off over time.
We usually don't trust ratings from articles that get kick-backs, and sometimes they are total scams. What do you think about their recommendation for the best gas log splitter, the best electric one and the best budget one?
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The best air purifiers for wildfire smoke are also the best to reduce smoke particles from wood stoves or boilers in the neighborhood. The best value, year after year, is Blueair Blue Pure 211+. Price: $278.99 - $299.99.
One of the first signs of bias against wood heat, is assuming trees are always cut down to make firewood. That helps you make the carbon argument against wood heat. The next is that a similar life cycle analysis is not done for fossil fuels, where a wide range environmental and human impacts are overlooked. This article is biased on both counts. That said, our community if often too dismissive of the health impacts of wood smoke.
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COVID-19 Stove Relief Fund |
The Stove Repair Relief Fund helps families impacted by COVID-19. Air quality agencies, change-out programs and low-income winterization programs can link to this fund to help their clients and residents. It provides up to a 50% reduction in the price of pellet stove parts for orders up to $500. Dozens of families can now keep their pellet stoves running safely.
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State News
Idaho: Programs intended to address air pollution in Franklin County have apparently paid off. Idaho's Franklin County is back in attainment with federal standards for an important air pollutant—PM 2.5—after more than 12 years of exceeding allowable levels. Exchanges wood stoves, school buses and salt trucks all helped.
Wisconsin: The largest biomass plants - and the smallest (residential) are subject to federal emission regulations but there is a lot in between that is not. “A lot of our wood products facilities in the northern part of the state ... are smaller and they usually don’t trigger best available control technology. They just have to meet general standards that cover all fuel-fired equipment. Those are mostly promulgated in the ‘70s, and are usually not the most stringent.”
International News
Canada: Many people in Nunatsiavut's off-grid, largely diesel-powered communities struggle to heat their homes. According to a 2017 energy report, 57% of dwellings in Nain and 63% in Hope-dale are inadequately heated. For homes that lack access to clean, reliable, affordable heat, firewood can be a lifeline.
UK: There is a new UK standard for the maintenance of biomass boilers following months of industry engagement to help improve the air quality of emissions from biomass boilers. The standard was commissioned following the Government's Clean Air Strategy 2018.
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Follow us on Instagram @for.greenheat for wood and pellet stove information, interior design inspiration, and easily digestible wood stove news and education! |
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Fire wood storage doesn't need to be expensive: Just split it, keep it off the ground and (usually) cover it with something. A tarp or old piece of metal roofing can work fine. Or, consider a more permanent shed and add solar panels!
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August - September, 2021
The webinar series facilitates the design of policies promoting the adoption of clean household energy. It will feature sessions on standards, data for decision-making, interventions, and cross-cutting themes such as climate change and gender.
Plainfield, Indiana, August 18-20, 2021
Technical training, business training, fellowship, fun, and fulfillment, all with CSIA CEUs.
Scranton, Pennsylvania, August 29 - September 1, 2021
Photos from previous conventions can be found on the Antique Stove Association website.
Virtual event, September 20-22, 2021
Making a difference globally and at home.
Virtual event, September 29-30, 2021
Collaborate, accelerate, decarbonize.
Verona, Italy, February 23-26, 2022
World trade show of biomass heating systems.
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Misleading Advertisement of the Month |
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The misleading advertisement of the month goes again to Ezboiler, a company making uncertified outdoor wood boilers in Michigan, apparently with no problems, year after year. The EPA has known about the company for years. The company does not claim their units are made to use coal. It repeatedly refers to wood and creosote and the link about how to prepare your fuel goes to a page about firewood. Instead of giving this company the misleading advertisement of the month every year, maybe we should start giving it to the EPA's office of enforcement for best impersonation of an ostrich, for keeping its head in the sand when major violations of its regulations are in plain sight. |
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Thank you to everyone who donated to AGH during 2020! Your support makes a huge difference and is very appreciated. The Alliance for Green Heat is an independent non-profit organization working to promote cleaner and more efficient biomass heating. Please consider making a generous contribution. The Alliance is a tax exempt 501 (c)(3) organization.
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