Green Heat News
November 2018
|
|
|
4th Wood Stove Design Challenge
The competition opens to the
public Friday, Nov. 9 at 3:30 and closes with the Award ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 4:00. There will be tours, workshops and networking with some of the countries top stove experts.
|
This is your chance to vote for the stove in the Wood Stove Design Challenge. The award will be announced on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at the Awards ceremony by a Member of Congress. And you can enter to win a free thermoelectric Biolite stove.
|
ASAT, a team from Oregon, made a video of of their stove. You have to see it to believe it.
The Renewable Home
Over the next 5 to 10 years, millions of Americans will be adding renewable energy to their homes. Rooftop solar is more and more affordable. Buying wind energy from your electric supplier is available to most. In colder rural areas, heating with a modern pellet or wood appliance is an obvious choice. And making one of your next cars in your family a plug-in hybrid or electric vehicle is more and more common. Think about it. Talk to your neighbors. Start making your home renewable.
Sponsors
The top sponsors often get the spotlight – as they should – but Olympia’s in-kind donation of ALL of chimney pipe, chimney caps, flashing, transportation and install help make it the fourth largest sponsor of event! A special thanks to Olympia.
John Mallets, the Director of Operations at Michigan’s Bells Brewery is a big fan of wood heating and AGH. Thanks for donating beer!
Many thanks to the DOE’s Bioenergy Technology Office, Osprey Foundation, NYSERDA, the US Forest Service, the Masonry Heater Association, Olympia Chimney, HPBA, Lignetics, Chimney Safety Institute of America, Myren Labs, Schott Robax Glass, the Catalytic Hearth Coalition, Allegheny Society for American Foresters the National Fireplace Institute, Biomass Thermal Energy Council and Testo. We could not host this event without their generous support.
|
Message from the U.S. Department of Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) is proud to partner with the Alliance for Green Heat to launch the fourth
Wood Stove Design Challenge
. The Wood Stove Design Challenge is a critical part of BE
TO’s overall goal to conduct early-stage research and development and support sustainable bioenergy technologies to convert our nation's abundant biomass resources into renewable biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts.
Dr. Jonathan Male
Director, Bioenergy Technologies Office
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Department of Energy
|
|
|
Focus on Federal Agencies
|
EIA:
Approximately 2.1 million households, or 2 percent of U.S. households, use cord wood or wood pellets as a primary heating fuel. The EIA estimates another 8 percent of households use wood as a secondary source of heat, making wood second to electricity as a supplementary heating fuel.
USDA:
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the October edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook and 2018-2019 Winter Fuels Outlook, predicting that average household bills for most energy sources of home heating will rise this winter due to higher forecast energy prices.
|
|
|
Pacific Energy, a Canadian company with strong US sales, is joining the growing group of manufacturers who are nearly ready for the stricter 2020 emission deadline. And all their wood stoves are non-catalytic. Blaze King is also advertising their readiness for 2020 emission requirements. These are all catalytic stoves and they offer a 10-year guarantee on their catalysts.
|
|
Rika: a professional 4-minute promotional video on automating the wi-fi start-up of a wood stove.
In the colder half of the country, solar installers could bundle panels with pellet stoves, so the panels can handle 100% of home electricity needs and let another renewable take care of heating load. Up north and in mountain states, rooftop panels can't do both.
|
|
|
Focus on Wood Ovens in Restaurants
|
Good journalism covering multiple sides of this issue. The renowned farm-to-table chef Alice Waters and owner of the ultra-trendy Chez Panisse restaurant says, “Until we stop driving cars, I’d rather live in a world with wood-burning ovens.”
|
|
|
State & International News
|
States
Alaska:
With Proposition 4, Fairbanks now has little authority to call burn ban and has suspended other programs, including the wood stove changeout program and waivers from burn bans. Voters wanted the state and the feds to take control.
California:
In a local CA election candidates were asked: “Do you agree that replacing older wood stoves with newer, certified stoves is not the best approach for reducing wood stove pollution?” Of the 44 respondents, 32 agreed, 6 did not agree, and 6 skipped this question.
Idaho:
An Idaho biomass system will provide electricity, heating and cooling to the plant, the hotel and new tourist attractions. Fiber sources including trees damaged by forest fires and sawdust from mills.
Maine:
Candidates for governor of Maine are sparring over residential energy issues. Democrat Janet Mills backs increased use of heat pumps and wood pellet stoves. Republican Shawn Moody also sees a greater role for heat pumps and pellet heat.
North Carolina:
October is Clean Energy Awareness month and the cooler temperatures have North Carolina homeowners thinking about home heating. Replacing an older wood burning stove with a newer stove or heating appliance is a great way to improve energy efficiency and air quality.
North Carolina:
After hurricanes and storms, there may be a lot of treated lumber that people are tempted to heat their homes with. Never do it. One family’s story: “Their hair fell out and all family members suffered severe, recurring nosebleeds, extreme fatigue and debilitating headaches. Both children suffered frequent seizures."
Oregon:
Until March 1 of next year, most residents and businesses in Multnomah County Oregon are barred from using their woodstoves or fireplaces on days when the air quality is forecasted to be poor.
Utah:
In one of the largest US stove change-outs ever, he EPA provided $7.5 million to help 3,000 families in northern Utah get cleaner heaters.
United Kingdom
Changes in the UK incentive program seek to exclude further support for biomass installations in urban areas on the gas grid in a move designed to reduce the air pollution impact.
Big box, independent hardware chains and stove retailers rally behind the "Ready to Burn" firewood labeling scheme that assure firewood is seasoned. "Stove retailers are clear that quality fuels are an important part of ensuring that modern stoves work as efficiently as possible, helping to minimize emissions."
For many it is the only way to heat their homes – but the reality is that, without stringently tested, clean and efficient stoves and properly dried wood, people are unknowingly poisoning themselves, their children and their neighbors.”
|
|
|
A: "If you are using trees that are already dead, that's about as carbon neutral as it gets. On a larger scale, wood does not stand up to electric heat generated by solar or wind which are emissions-free after manufacturing."
|
|
|
Washington DC, November 9-13, 2018
The 2018 event is free and open to the public and features a competition on the best automated and thermoelectric wood stoves. It includes rigorous testing and assessment.
Aurora, CO, December 17-18, 2018
A two-day Workshop on Household Energy Impact Evaluation aims to accelerate transitions toward cleaner household energy systems and policy-oriented impact evaluation research designs. Spaces available for 50 experts.
Portland, Oregon, February 11-12, 2019
Join industry leaders along with fellow weatherization professionals, home performance contracting businesses, program administrators, and others working in the residential energy efficiency industry.
Wels, Austria, February 27-28, 2019
The 2 conferences present the work and achievements of young researchers (born after 1983) in the fields of biomass and energy efficiency. They offer an opportunity to interact with researchers and industry experts from all over the world.
Wels, Austria & Nurnberg, Germany, February 24 - March 6, 2019
EBF19 participants will work together, discovering why Austria made progress in advanced heating systems, and which of the best methods and equipment might be adapted to conditions here.
Dallas, Texas, March 13 - March 16, 2019
See for yourself all of the fun – and BIG business – that you can expect at HPBExpo 2019 in Dallas!
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
