The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing standards for the amount of air pollution that can be emitted by new woodstoves and heaters, beginning in 2015. Wood is a significant source of home heating in Vermont. According to the US Censue Bureau, the top five states for wood heating as a percentage of households are Vermont (16 percent), Maine (12.2 percent), Montana (8.8 percent), Idaho (8.3 percent) and New Hampshire (7.3 percent). The states with the greatest total number of households heating with wood are California, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Washington (2011 American Community Survey ACS).
The EPA's proposal would make the next generation of stoves and heaters an estimated 80 percent cleaner than those manufactured today, leading to important air quality and public health improvements in communities across the country. The proposal would affect a variety of wood heaters manufactured beginning in 2015 and will not affect heaters and stoves already in use in homes or currently for sale today.
The EPA states that smoke from residential wood heaters, which are used around the clock in some communities, can increase toxic air pollution, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and soot, also known as particle pollution, to levels that pose serious health concerns. Particle pollution is linked to a wide range of serious health effects, including heart attacks, strokes and asthma attacks. In some areas, residential wood smoke makes up a significant portion of the fine particle pollution problem. EPA’s proposal would work in concert with state and local programs to improve air quality in these communities.
According to a report by the Alliance for Green Heat (SEE’HERE), the number of American households using wood as a primary source of heat increased 1.72 percent in 2012, continuing a decade long growth spurt for the renewable heating fuel, according to the US Census 2011 American Community Survey (ACS). The survey estimates that 2.11 percent of US homes use wood-derived fuel as their primary heating source, compared to 2.08 percent in 2010.
While the growth spurt is continuing, it is also showing signs of slowing down. In the last six years, wood heat showed its greatest uptick in 2005-2006, growing 8.5% in one year. On average from 2000 to 2010, wood grew 4.5% each year, so a 1.7% increase last year may indicate a softening of the market.
The ACS does not track secondary heat use, but it is likely, according to the Alliance for Green Heat, that more Americans are using wood to supplement their main fuel as well. According to the 2009 EIA Renewable Energy Consumption Survey, 7.7 percent of American homes used wood as a supplemental source of heat and wood was the second most common secondary home heating fuel behind electricity. When more homes use wood or pellets as primary heat, the number of homes using it as a secondary heat source grows as well, as far as we know.
During the past decade, several states in the northeast as well as Michigan, Ohio and Nevada saw the number of homes mainly heating with wood or pellets increase by more than 90%.[1] But of these eight states, only Massachusetts and Maine continued the upward trend in 2011. Instead, Hawaii (52.5%), Florida (30.5%), Delaware (23.2%), Wyoming (21.6%), and Idaho (19.8%) had the greatest gains.
The EPA’s proposal covers several types of new wood-fired heaters, including: woodstoves, fireplace inserts, indoor and outdoor wood boilers (also called hydronic heaters), forced air furnaces and masonry heaters. Many residential wood heaters already meet the first set of proposed standards, which would be phased in over five years to allow manufacturers time to adapt emission control technologies to their particular model lines. Today’s proposal does not cover fireplaces, fire pits, pizza ovens, barbecues and chimineas.
When these standards are fully implemented, EPA estimates that for every dollar spent to comply with these standards, the American public will see between $118 and $267 in health benefits. Consumers will also see a monetary benefit from efficiency improvements in the new woodstoves, which use less wood to heat homes. The total health and economic benefits of the proposed standards are estimated to be at $1.8 to $2.4 billion annually.
EPA will take comment on the proposal for 90 days after it is published in the Federal Register. The agency will hold a public hearing Feb. 26, 2014 in Boston. EPA expects to issue a final rule in 2015.
Source: EPA 01/03/2014 For more information http://www2.epa.gov/residential-wood-heaters
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