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Volume 107

Green Heat News
July 2018
Agency news: EPA & DOE
President Trump's nominee to head the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Dan Simmons said “I like renewables & efficiency. The house I grew up in had a wood-burning stove, and because the house was efficient (i.e., well insulated), we only needed to burn about a quarter of a cord of wood a year."

It is unclear if the EPA will look again at the cost benefit equation of residential wood heaters when it makes changes to the NSPS. If it does, it would likely benefit industry, sideline consumers and devalue the health benefits of reducing wood smoke.
4th Wood Stove Design Challenge

Meet the Teams! These are the first 5 blogs in a series of 12 about each team competing in the November stove challenge.
Variable Choke Venturi (VcV) technology has come a long way from New Zealand, where it was invented over a decade ago. It is a simple device to improve combustion in wood stoves that is reliable and does not require electricity. Brian Gauld bought the rights to it, convinced that it held the secret to cleaning up manually operated wood stoves and hired Ben Myren to make it work.

Stove Builder International built the innovative Osburn Volta pellet stove in 2012 and made important strides in understanding how sensors can control combustion. The Volta is unique in that it runs on direct current (DC) when all other pellet stoves run on the normal household AC current. The Volta has its own battery pack and can be easily integrated with solar power.

The stove is so novel that the EPA can’t figure out whether to call it a wood stove or a pellet stove. That’s because it’s neither—or both—depending on how you look at it. The stove burns logs that are pressed out of sawdust. There is no auger, which all pellet stoves have, but the stove achieves consistently high efficiency and low emissions that no wood stove can get.

Students from George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science’s Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (GWU SEAS MAE) have been hard at work developing a thermoelectric stove. Students from this department are more likely to work on nanotechnology in solar panels or landing spacecraft on Mars, but it turns out, getting a steady flow of reliable electricity from a wood stove is just as challenging.

Fred Leavitt has been working in thermoelectrics since he graduated from college in 1982. He learned the technology from the team that developed the SNAP-27 thermoelectric generator left on the moon by the Apollo missions as well as the team that developed the thermoelectric generators for the Voyager spacecraft. Now, as Vice President of Hi-Z Technology, he wants to bring that technology to your living room.

The West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund and AGH issued a press release about the Design Challenge and wood heating in PA. Sponsors also include the DOE, Osprey Foundation, NYSERDA, US Forest Service, Masonry Heater Association, HPBA, Lignetics, CSIA, Schott- Robax, NFI, Myren Labs, Catalytic Hearth Association and Testo.







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AGH Research & Analysis
In 2014, the Census reported that an estimated 2.5 million U.S. households used wood or pellets as a primary heating fuel. Since then the number and percentage of U.S. homes primarily heating with wood and pellets leveled off and saw a modest decline. According to the latest Census, around 2.2 million homes of U.S. homes primarily heated with wood and pellets in 2016—a nearly 12% decline from 2014 and a 9.4% drop from 2011.




Focus on Innovation
A clear ceramic pipe could help consumers see the amount of smoke of going up their chimney. A New Zealand company, Intensifire is working on it (and also determining recommended clearances from combustibles).

Dandelion Energy, a company known for shaking things up in geothermal, launched a smart, all-in-one home heating and air conditioning system.


Focus on Policy
Nearly half of all energy demand worldwide is from heating and cooling. Reducing carbon emissions associated with the generation of heating and cooling is key to achieving long-term climate change mitigation goals.


Focus on Firewood
Should firewood retailers be urged or required to test for moisture content when delivering wood. And should the EPA and states urge consumers to ask retailers to do that on delivery?


State & International News
Alaska: A group of 36 private sector air quality stakeholders begins work today on figuring out how to reduce smoke pollution in the Fairbanks. It’s a problem that has vexed state officials and local leaders for years, and time is running out.

Ohio: Lehman’s has undergone many changes and expansion over the years. Living off the electrical grid isn’t as common anymore, but some people still do. The store can provide everything from gas refrigerator to the best selection of US and European cook stoves anywhere.

Vermont: John Leppo, of ACT Robots, fine tunes the programming of a robotic arm recently installed at the Vermont Casting foundry in Randolph, VT. The system will lift the heaviest stove pieces made at the foundry, drill holes and grind rough edges.

United Kingdom: The trade body representing the stove manufacturing industry has welcomed the government’s draft Clean Air Strategy, published last month, which will tighten the rules around the burning of solid fuels by homeowners.




Conferences & Webinars
Westport, MA, July 15-18, 2018
The annual gathering of the antique wood stove community showcases rare old stoves and those who know and admire them.

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.

Philadelphia, PA, September 12-14, 2018
The Mid-Atlantic Bioenergy Council (MABEC) is looking forward to welcoming over 300 attendees from the Mid-Atlantic and beyond .

Berlin, Germany, October 10-11, 2018
The International Biomass Congress & Expo brings together leading producers, suppliers, regulators and others over a two day period to address issues relating to the biomass sector.

Burlington, VT, October 18-19, 2018
REV2017 brought together leaders and experts from throughout the region to address the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Washington DC, November 9-13, 2018
The 2018 event is free and open to the public and features a competition on the best automated wood stove and thermoelectric wood stoves. It includes rigorous testing and assessment.

Wels, Austria, February 27 - March 1, 2019
Energy efficiency and renewable energy are at the core of Europe’s commitment to a clean energy transition. This conference connect people and empower them to embrace the necessary change.









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