Volume 101

Green Heat News
January 2018
4th Wood Stove Design Challenge
AGH and DOE announced eight finalists in December to compete in the 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge scheduled for Nov. 9–14, 2018.

It’s not too late to apply for a grant and enter the competition. Funding is available for three additional teams.

With an automated stove, "the user simply needs to set the required room termperature on the remote control, and the user will then be notified when it is time to refuel the stove. Our studies show that optimal control of combustion in a wood-burning stove is virtually impossible if done manually."






Challenge Sponsors: Thanks to the Bioenergy Technology Office at the DOE, NYSERDA, Osprey Foundation, the US Forest Service, the Masonry Heater Assocation, the HPBA, Myren Labs and Schott Robax glass!
AGH Projects and Activities
Here are what we think were the top 10 stories of 2017. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment.

Wondering how to select a wood or pellet stove? Or ways to save money on a stove install? Or whether your state offers any incentives? These questions and more are answered here.

Why are so many industry leaders saying that the 2015 NSPS will not advance stove technology? We think it is—and we need industry leaders who can champion a vision of a cleaner future for wood stoves.

In July of this year when New York started to require a minimum efficiency of 70% to qualify for their pellet stove incentive, only 29 pellet stoves qualified. As of November, 45 stoves qualified. This shows that companies will disclose efficiency data when its to their financial benefit. AGH has been a leading advocate in this effort.
Focus on EPA and the NSPS
A local paper champions a small wood furnace company for producing the cleanest and most efficient cord wood boiler on the market that easily beats the Step 2 standards that take effect in 2020. They are one of a number of small companies urging Congress not to extend the 2020 deadline to 2023.

The average hybrid cord wood stove now has a lower PM than the average pellet stove—in the lab at least. In the hands of homeowners, pellet stoves can't be beat. In terms of CO, pellet stoves on average are 6 times cleaner.

There are now 15 certified forced air furnaces. The cleanest and most efficient pellet unit is made by Maine Energy Systems at 89% efficient. The cleanest and most efficient wood unit is made by Lamppa at 79% efficiency. The least efficient wood units are from US Stove, at 33% efficiency for a wood unit and 48% for a pellet one.






Focus on cookstoves
"While the US may set the bar for craftsmanship in [wood stoves], when it comes to cookstoves, it looks like we have been surpassed by many European countries." Here are some top cookstoves from Europe: Esse (UK), De Manicor (Italy), La Nordica (Italy), J.A. Roby (Quebec - halfway European).


Focus on innovation
An Idaho company is breaking new ground by designing a stove for pressed logs. They are the first company that can claim their stove is “tested in the same environment and under the same conditions as it will be used in your home.” For people who don’t like the mess of firewood, this could be a great stove that is consistently cleaner than traditional stoves. We hope the company begins to list their actual thermal efficiency and not just combustion and maximum “total efficiency.”
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Focus on regulations
Some good points in the article, but headline is wrong on both counts: It's the air quality activists—not climate crusaders—who take issue with wood stoves. And there is no stove ban in Montreal—just strict new limits on what can be brought and installed.

Salt Lake City is raising penalties for using a fireplace, wood stove on a designated "no burn" day from $25 to $150 for a first-time offense. Scientists found that in spite of the rule, the amount of wood smoke in the air on no-burn days remained about the same as when the ban was not in effect.
Focus on pellets
A fire in a Maine pellet plant has not increased prices or led to a shortage, but a firewood dealer is selling more cords this year. "5 to 10 percent of my business has been from people who have come to me and said they have gone back to buying wood, because they feel their pellet stove has not put out enough heat," JRS firewood owner said recently.

Pellet stoves can be ideally suited for tiny homes—or a tiny, off-the-grid classroom. They used the tiny Thelin pellet stove, run by electricity from solar panels.










Focus on safety
Dangerous levels of CO buildup can come from coals in your ash bucket. Either keep your ash bucket outside, or make sure there are no live coals in them.
People
AGH Advisory board member Professor Sarah Mittlefehldt set out to build a net-zero home for $200,000, heated mainly by a wood stove. She said she chose an Englander stove because it was the best stove she could find at that price point. Mittlefehldt uses her new home as a teaching tool and actively monitors energy production and usage.

Pellet Fuels Institute has selected Tim Portz has its new executive director beginning Jan. 2. Portz is the executive editor of BBI International's Biomass Magazine and Pellet Mill Magazine, and has been a renewable industry observer, reporter, and commentator for nearly a decade.
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Best of December Facebook
Lamppa Manufacturing's letter to the EPA urging them to keep their 2020 deadline got 358 shares and over 1,000 likes.

Say what? “When it's cold and windy, you really should just run your heat and not your fireplace and not your wood stove, not your pellet stove."
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Conferences and webinars
Kirkland, WA, January 26-28, 2018
The conference encourages participation of Southern partners, international stoves experts, and development specialists with field experience in the transfer of cooking technologies.
Saratoga Springs, NY, February 13-14, 2018
Join together with industry leaders working in the residential energy efficiency industry for a cutting edge educational experience.
Verona, Italy, February 21-25, 2018
International exhibition of systems and equipment for the production of wood-fired heating.

Wels, Austria, February 28 - March 2, 2018
The World Sustainable Energy Days (WSED) are one of Europe's largest annual conferences in this field.

Wels, Austria, February 28 - March 1, 2018
With more than 500 participants, the European Pellet Conference held in Wels is the largest annual pellet event in the world.
Nashville, TN, March 7-10, 2018
HPBExpo is being held at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee with Outdoor Burn Exhibits located across from the center.
Portland, OR, April 18-21, 2018
Over 30 hours of business and tech breakout session, trade show featuring more than 80 booths, and much more.
Philadelphia, PA, April 23-26, 2018
The HPC National Conference is where you will join over one thousand residential energy efficiency professionals for four days of outstanding educational sessions, networking, and inspiration.
Denmark, May 14-18, 2018
The EUBCE brings together industry, scientists, research labs and agencies, and always has a focus on biomass thermal.

Philadelphia, PA, July 22-27, 2018
Join us in Philadelphia to meet with the international indoor air and climate community in an exciting week of networking, exchange of ideas, and discussion of the latest indoor air science.
Davis, CA, September 10, 2018
ASIC brings together stakeholders from academia, government, and communities to promote and advance air pollution sensors.
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Spotlight on misleading advertisements
The St. Croix Ashby and Hastings pellet stoves are listed at 83% on their website, but 66% of EPA list. That's a much bigger difference than can be explained by simply misleading consumers by using LHV values. And, it didn't stop them from warranting that the product is at least 75% efficient for the IRS tax credit: "Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this certification statement, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, the facts are true, correct, and complete."
Last laughs
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