If you live in the State of Massachusetts and you were looking to buy a traditional (low efficiency) wood boiler, you are now out of luck.

As of December 26th, residents may only purchase EPA Phase 2 qualified wood boilers (like the Greenwood Aspen Series). The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) issued the regulation to protect air quality in neighborhoods across the Commonwealth by limiting the amount of pollution emitted by outdoor wood-fired boilers, also known as outdoor hydronic heaters.

To read the announcement click here. To review the regulation go here.

OK, after my last post this is almost embarrasing … ok, not quite. We were just notified that Greenwood received a 2008 Reader’s Choice Award for the Apsen Series outdoor wood boiler from Contractor magazine. Winners are chosen based on the top 10 single highest inquiries from the magazine’s monthly new product sections.

Look here for more information.

It always a nice surprise when someone notices your work. We were recently surprised by an award for Best Product of 2008 from BUILDERnews magazine.  Winners were selected because they reflected significant contributions to the homebuilding industry, by raising the bar and pushing the limits for technology, efficiency and affordability while taking into account environmental concerns. 

Take a read here to read more.

If you have turned on a television, you have likely heard of the Duggars — the Arkansas family that has 7x the number of children as the US average. Several years ago, they installed a Greenwood Furnace to heat their home and hot water. They have a 7000 sq ft home and a hot water demand that rivals a small motel.

Periodically, the media picks up on the fantastic installation done by Oren Atchley, a local plumbing and heating firm. In the current Discovery & TLC series, “17 Kids and Counting” there is an entertaining and educational segment on the Greenwood Furnace in the “Cheaper by the Duggars” episode.

In the midst of an uncertain economy, outdoor wood boilers and wood-fired furnaces have become a way for people to reduce their monthly heating bills and cut heating costs. We have found that we are getting more questions from folks who have never used a wood-fired central heating system, so I thought I would answer some often asked questions to help people better understand the appliances and make informed decisions about their home heating choice.

What is a wood boiler?  Wood boilers burn wood and convert the energy in wood to hot water for use as space heating or domestic hot water. They are very similar to a central gas, propane or oil boiler, except the burn wood for fuel.

Will a wood boiler work with my existing forced air heating system?  Wood boilers will work with most existing heating systems (e.g. forced air, baseboard, radiant, etc.). They are controlled by the thermostat inside the home.

Are wood boilers and wood furnaces the same? Technically, boilers create hot water and and furnaces create hot air. However, when the terms wood boiler or wood furnace are used, they are often used to refer to the same appliance. The term wood boiler is an East Coast term, while wood furnace is a often used in the Midwest

What is the difference between a traditional wood boiler and a clean technology wood boiler?  Over the last few years, the US EPA has been working with manufacturers to promote the development of clean technology wood boilers. These high efficiency units capture most of the heat produced from burning wood and emit 90% less emission than their dirty cousins, the traditional wood boiler. In addition, they use 50-60% less wood, while producing the same amount of heat.

Why are clean technology wood boilers more efficient? Clean technology wood boilers, such as those manufactured by Greenwood Technologies, burn at much hotter temperatures. Through a process called wood gasification, these units burning the wood completely and also burn the smoke and the gases released from the wood. There is little left to exit the chimney as smoke.

How do I know which wood boiler to buy?  Look for wood boilers sold with an Orange or White Tag. These appliances are designated by the EPA to be clean burning and meet low emission standards. A short list of manufacturers that currently meet these standards is located at www.epa.gov/woodheaters.

Does my state have regulations for wood boilers? Due to the pollution caused by traditional wood boilers, a number of states including Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have guidelines for new appliances.  Many additional states are also creating model rules. Check with NESCAUM (Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management) or you might take a look at the list that the State of Vermont has pulled together here.

We are setting up a show-down among three recently hot topics - energy, economy and environment.

Looking back over the past year is quite interesting. We have had oil (and its derived products) reach historic price levels. We have seen unprecedented awareness in schools and on main street regarding greenhouse gases and environmental issues. Finally, we have the economic events of the past few months that have cast a dark shadow of uncertainty over it all.

The average person can wrap their arms around one issue or decide between two competing objectives, but it gets more complicated when you need to choose among three competing interests.

People are increasingly looking at their pocketbook and asking themselves - “I like the idea of being environmentally friendly, but how much is it worth to me?” Of course, this is being driven by increasing economic uncertainty. Good environmental ideas from last month are still good ideas, but I would submit that we begin to see a shift toward more practical ideas from consumer attitudes and behaviors.

This eco-pragmatism (evaluation of an action or purchase based on the practicality of the good or service as part of its environmental impact) can be contrasted with greenwashing  (application of an eco-friendly label or classification to a product (often inappropriately) so that it appears to be eco-friendly) that you have undoubtedly been subjected to as you walk down the aisle at your favorite store.

In the coming year, I think we will see a more products that offer a positive economic impact while improving an environmental concern. Costly items like solar panels and wind turbines will still have their buyers, but clean-tech pellet and wood boilers will share the spotlight. While the latter does not provide the air quality improvement of the first two, it is a significant improvement over a conventional fossil fuel.

The NEW Greenwood Furnace Model 45

This past Friday was Halloween. This picture of Katherine tells you all you need to know about your friends here at Greenwood.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Vermont have been leading the charge to reduce the emissions on outdoor wood boilers, so it makes good sense that they chose Waterbury, VT to announce the EPA Phase II voluntary program. We were on the grounds of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation with a number of other manufacturers (including Hardy and Northwest Manufacturing) to support the EPA announcement on cleaner outdoor wood heaters.

Phil Etter (VT DEC)

Gil Wood (EPA)

There was also a lot of press at the event – take a listen to what Vermont Public Radio has to say about the event.

Greenwood in the News

This past week we were in Vermont for the EPA’s announcement of the Phase II Hydronic Heater Program. After you get past the name (which is a general term that refers to pellet, corn and wood boilers) you might ask  yourself what is so significant about this program?

First, as a consumer it means that there will be able to identify cleaner wood and biomass products from other dirtier products. The cleaner products carry a White Tag rather than the Orange Tag (from the Phase I program). These new units are 90% cleaner than traditional wood boilers rather than 70% cleaner than those that complied with the Phase I standards. Some products (like the Greenwood Aspen Series) qualified for both Phase I and Phase II. 

The second distinction is that it places all residential biomass heating appliances in the same category. This is similar to a fuel mileage rating system for automobiles where SUVs and hybrids gas mileage can be compared. In the case of wood boilers, the rating provides you an understanding of what type of output you get based on your fuel preference or installation location. Indoor and outdoor products as well as pellet, corn and log wood fuels are all on the same scale. As a consumer you have more information in which to make your decision.

Expect to hear a lot more about the White Tag or for more information head to the EPA site.

With fuel prices where they are these days, there is a lot of talk about domestically available options. One type of fuel that is central to the debate is biofuel. You may recognize them by their other names - ethanol, biodiesel, biocrude, methanol and methane to name a few.

Don’t freak out on me, this is not your high school chemistry class, but there are some big questions that arise that are still under debate and as consumers of the product/byproduct it is important that we understand what is being discussed.

Central to the biofuel discussion are two fundamental debates:

1. Energy and Food Supply. Early biofuel supplies were built using a corn and other food supply feedstocks. Should energy products compete with the food supply?
2. Energy Conversion. Biofuels are created from organic material (e.g. corn, switchgrass & crop residues). What amount of energy is required to create the fuel from these feedstocks? If the amount of energy required to produce the fuel is less than the output from the resulting fuel, is it worthwhile? The conversation is a bit heated.

These are not simple questions. However, their answers are arguably simple - each resource should be used to provide its greatest return. In the questions we ask above — I would argue that food supply should remain as food supply. We can use the crop residue for energy. As far as energy conversion, I don’t need to look any further than modern biomass heating options with efficiencies greater than 70% (per US standards). Until the economics or science indicate otherwise perhaps we should be selective in our choice of the feedstocks for biofuels.

As someone who has made it this far, implies some level of interest, so I encourage you to take a look at this resource from Farm Credit of Canada that provides an overview on the biofuel discussion.