Green Heat News
April 2019
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These guys just made an inexpensive 2020 compliant furnace, beating out competitors. But hitting the emission targets is only part of the game. It may cost much more to make a furnace without using an alternative test method and meet consumer expectations. Lamppa believes the EPA erroneously certified the HY-C unit.
Most stove manufacturers ready for May 15, 2020
The list of stove manufacturers who are ready for 2020, almost ready or “well-positioned” to be 2020 ready seems to grow by the week. As of March, more than a year before the deadline, they include: APR Industries, Blaze King, Even Temp, ExtraFlame, Foyers, Heat Tech, Hearthstone, Innovative Hearth Products, Jotul, Kuma, Laminoux, MF Fire, Napoleon, Pacific Energy, Rais, SBI, Stuv, Supreme, Thelin, Travis and Woodstock Soapstone. HHT by far the largest manufacturer, says a majority of its stoves will be 2020 certified in 2019. Congratulations to all! (If we missed your company, please contact us and let us know.)
Travis and Kuma may be first companies to test all their stoves with cordwood
Travis Industries, Kuma and potentially Hearthstone have reportedly switched to cordwood testing to certify their lines of stoves to 2020 standards. On Feb. 28, 2018, in a reply to a request from Hearthstone, the
EPA approved
the ASTM E3053-17 cordwood test method, with certain changes, as a "broadly applicable" method.
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Senator Susan Collins says “Wood biomass is a cost-effective, renewable, and environmentally friendly source of energy that helps individuals heat their homes in the winter. By providing biomass thermal energy technologies the same tax treatment as other forms of renewable energy, this legislation would encourage the use of highly efficient biomass heating systems.”
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A Maryland stove retailer recalls the highs and lows of 4 decades selling stoves - the oil embargo, Y2K, Hurricane Katrina and the impact of new EPA regulations.
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Jotul's Oslo and Hy-C's Fire Chief won the 2019 wood heater Vesta awards at the industry association annual expo. Unfortunately, Vesta doesn't disclose why they were awarded the prizes but HPBA cleared that up in a
blog post
. We reached out to both companies and HY-C agreed to an interview covered in the
story above
. AGH has urged Vesta to provide more transparency about why products are given awards.
In 1988 EPA regulations forced many manufacturers to close, including Vermont's HearthStone. But a Spanish company purchased the assets in 1989 and rebuilt the company. Today, all the cast iron comes from Spain. HeathStone now has a full line of 2020 compliant stoves at an average cost of $3,000.
"The primary impediment to growing Canada’s pellet central heating market is the shortage of high-quality boilers and furnaces. Many of the world’s best pellet boiler brands are not available in Canada because the regulatory process for certifying European boilers in Canada is complex." Dutch Dresser says there is an easy fix to that.
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Renewable Heating Policy & News
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If the US government had climate change policies that encouraged renewable heating, these are the green heating technologies that would be involved. Some states are taking up the slack but not with nearly the resources and scale that the federal government can leverage.
The UK Committee on Climate Change recommends that from 2025, no new home should be connected to the gas grid. "Heat decarbonization", combined with energy efficiency measures, should include low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps and low-carbon heat networks.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Comox council members passed a resolution to prohibit wood burning appliances in all construction projects.
Companies, cities, and institutions issued the Renewable Thermal Buyers’ Statement at the Climate Leadership Conference. By signing on to the Statement, a wide range of large buyers are indicating their demand for market-ready, sustainable, renewable thermal solutions.
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Curran is a very unique pellet plant because it provides 100% of it own feedstock to make its pellet. That enables it to also be sustainably FSC certified. But the heating pellet market has been very cyclical: “In 2014 and 2015, we ran seven days a week. Then, 2016 and 2017 were very bleak, and in 2018, we started to see an upward change.”
Daniel Francoeur has discovered a way to be more sustainable: salvaging wood from burn piles and turning it into firewood. “After the logging company opened the land for me, I had access to a fair amount of wood that was going to get burned. So instead of just burning it and wasting the wood, I started going after the burn pile with my excavator."
Users of wood pellet stoves in the four-states have run into a common problem, a severe shortage of wood pellet fuel for their stoves.
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HB357 by Rep. Timothy Hawkes, R-Centerville, is designed to reduce wood smoke pollution along the Wasatch Front in the areas where wintertime inversions drive unhealthy air quality that violate federal clean air standards.
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State & International News
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States
Connecticut:
For diehards who heat with wood, this time of year often turns into a game of beat the clock, in which participants hoard the last available stick until the forsythias blossom, robins chirp and lines form outside soft-serve ice cream shops.
Massachusetts:
The Towns of Winchester and Arlington have been jointly selected to participate in the 2019 HeatSmart Mass Program. HeatSmart Mass is a community-based education and group purchasing program for clean heating and cooling technologies.
Maine:
If 15 percent of the homes and businesses in Maine that use heating oil change to pellet heat over the next decade, it would keep an additional $133 million circulating in the state’s economy and result in approximately 8,000 new jobs.
Maine:
Don’t get me wrong. I love my heat pump, but in the dead of winter in Maine, it just doesn’t seem to cut it. That's why Laura Reed bought a pellet stove. "I'm loving it" ... too.
Maine:
Now that the pushback to our goals no longer comes from a governor and the governor’s legislative allies, our challenge may be to avoid getting pulled and lost in the sheer force of the “Blue Wave.”
Maine:
A South Portland, Maine, facility that stores oil and asphalt will see a reduction in the amount of emissions it is allowed as a result of an agreement reached with federal agencies.
Michigan:
Jon Sumner stokes his old outdoor Central Boiler, that could easily be far less than 50% efficient. "They predicted they’d need about 30 cords of wood to make it through winter", but already have burned through 28, Sumer said.
Montana:
To further reduce wood smoke emissions we can consider building a community wood shelter, using manufactured fuels (i.e. compressed logs), increasing the pellet stove to woods stove ratio and embracing new stove technology, like automated wood stoves.
New Hampshire:
Dartmouth College is seeking a company to build and run a $200 million wood chip heating plant. Its looking for reliable service, affordable pricing, technological flexibility, and facilitation of learning opportunities for Dartmouth students and faculty. “This is a long-term project. We’re talking 30-plus years,” Keniston said. “We want companies that can become community partners.”
Utah:
HB357
is designed to reduce wood smoke pollution along the Wasatch Front by funding mainly conversions from wood to gas or heat pumps..
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April 2, 2019, 2-3 PM EST
A webinar on renewable industrial process heat needs featuring speakers from Cargill, City of Philadelphia, L'Oreal USA, and the World Wildlife Fund.
Jamestown, New York, April 25, 2019
A seminar and training held at Jamestown Community College.
Epsom, New Hampshire, June 12 - June 13, 2019
The NFW is a two day event that focuses on the business side of the split firewood industry to assist companies with ideas to grow sales, profitability and business success.
Washington, DC, July 11, 2019
The event will bring together 30-40 businesses, trade associations, and government agencies to showcase renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
Wels, Austria, July 22-26, 2019
To find fresh solutions and new ideas for sustainable energy in buildings, industry and transport, we are inviting 33 young professionals and researchers under 33 to tackle this challenge in an event of collaborative thinking across disciplines.
Burlington, Vermont, October 10-11, 2019
Renewable Energy Vermont's annual forum brings together business leaders, system operators, architects, builders, manufacturers, engineers, scientists, policy makers, and regulators.
Washington DC, July, 2020
Competing teams exhibit and compete at the Build Challenge Event, as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington.
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March was international women’s month and we recognized the leadership and expertise of women in the wood and pellet heating community. This is just a small sampling and not intended to be inclusive and we could not find photos of many people we wanted to include. Lisa Rector,
Jessica Steinhäuser
,
Maura Adams, Eva Horton, Ellen Burkhard, Prof. Sarah Mittlefehldt, Kelli Curran Ramsay, Kelli O'Brian, Jennifer Hedrick, Amie Ryan, Julie Tucker, Emma Hanson, Diane Rossi, Loretta Dolan, Christiane Egger and Rebecca Trojanowski
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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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"Burn wood. Feel good."
Take spending time among the trees to a whole new level. BioLite CBD pellets offer a stable burn for your CampStove, providing a soothing warmth of smokeless flames that emit nothing but relaxation.
- CBD-infused pellets provide 1500mg per burn
- Perfect for camping, outdoor cooking, or whenever you want to forget sticks and chill.
- Watch the Youtube video: "license to chill."
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