These days, we are all looking for a bargain and Greenwood is only more than happy to help. How would you like to win $200 towards a STIHL chainsaw or other STIHL products? Simply like us on Facebook to enter the contest to win!

We reached out to our friends at STIHL to let them know that with the holiday’s coming up, our readers may want to buy a STIHL product but right now, maybe can’t afford to spend the extra money. As a clean burning wood boiler manufacturer, we want to help make sure you are prepared for the cold winter months. If we can help you buy the STIHL chainsaw you’ve been eyeing for a while, we’re glad to help!

By liking us on our Facebook page, you will be automatically entered to win a $200 STIHL gift certificate to use towards a new STIHL chainsaw, blower or other outdoor power equipment item – check out STIHL’s products here! What is most exciting is that since our Facebook page is new (and as of this writing) we have fewer than 100 fans; the chances are high that you could win! Go to Greenwood’s Facebook page today and like us to enter to win $200 towards STIHL products!!

Incoming search terms:

• win a stihl (7)
• like on facebook to win (5)
• facebook stıhl (3)
• like and win on facebook (2)
• facebook like to win (2)
• stihl facebook (2)
• what is stihl gift (1)
• stihl void gift certificate (1)
• stihl products usa (1)
• stihl holiday gifts (1)

The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NH-PUC) has announced improvements in its Residential Bulk-Fuel Fed Wood-Pellet Central Boilers and Furnaces rebate program for automated wood pellet boilers and wood furnaces.

The program allows consumers to get a rebate of 30% up to a maximum of $6,000 on the purchase and installation of a qualifying heating system. To qualify, the installation must receive authority approval and include an efficient and automatic feeding wood furnace or pellet boiler. The appliances must installed before February 2012.

The two modifications to the program enable more systems to qualify:

• the overall efficiency rating has been lowered to 80% (from 85% or greater), and
• systems now qualify that require routine cleaning for each ton of premium pellets used. (Systems that automatically clean the burn chamber and the heat exchanger still qualify.)

Incoming search terms:

• pellet furnace nh (13)
• pellet boiler nh (10)
• wood pellet demand 2011 (8)
• pellet boilers nh (5)
• biomass rebate (5)
• nh pellet boiler (4)
• pros and cons of greenwood wood boiler (4)
• wood pellet demand in europe (3)
• wood pellet demand in new hampshire (3)
• outdoor forced air wood furnace plans (3)

As reported by Biomass Magazine, despite the unstable economy, wood heating is dominating the residential renewable energy market in America. With its affordability and today’s efficient wood heating appliances, homeowners are looking for greater certainty in their utility bills. In today’s economy, families do not want to pay the extra expense for high heating bills during the winter months. An efficient wood heating appliance could cut a person’s heating bill by 70 percent.

The Transforming Wood Heat in America report states, “…despite all the hoopla around solar, wood heat creates 80 percent of all residential renewable energy.” Wood heat is attractive with stretched wallets and tight government spending. Log wood is an ideal fuel for families that are feeling the pressure of paying high oil bills to heat their homes. Families typically do not have the income to invest in popular technologies such as solar and geo-thermal as a result wood heating is efficient and cost effective.

The article’s author, Lisa Gibson, explains the advantage of wood heating, as it provides year-round heating for the consumer’s home and does not require much effort. By simply putting a few wood logs in the appliance, the home is comfortably heated throughout the cold days and evenings. By contrast, using solar panels in the long, dark winter months does not heat the home efficiently and needs an alternative source to provide the energy the home requires. However, wood heaters can be used year around and do not need another energy source to provide heat for the home.

These are difficult times, and with summer coming to a close and fall just around the corner, more and more people are returning to the basics of wood heat. Particularly with today’s cleaner, more efficient and affordable technologies, home heating bills can cut down exponentially and are proving to be a popular option.

Special thanks to Nick Biagi (@Nick_Biagi), our summer intern, for authoring this post.

Incoming search terms:

• Biomass Magazine (22)
• wood heat (7)
• all residential (2)
• magazines on home heating (1)
• no more utility bills wood heating (1)
• percentage of residential wood heating (1)
• popular renewable energy wood magazine (1)
• residential energy end-use renewable wood (1)
• residential wood biomass cost effective#sclient=psy-ab (1)
• residential wood heat cost effective (1)

As part of the federal government’s initiative to reduce spending, the contingency budget for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that provides heating assistance for those with low incomes was cut by 67%, from $591 million to just $200 million. LIHEAP is a federally-funded program that helps low-income households pay their home heating and cooling bills. It operates in every state and the District of Columbia, as well as on most tribal reservations and U.S. territories.

If you are one of the homeowners that was receiving these subsidies, this cut is going to hurt, especially with energy prices at all times highs. However, rather than discuss the pros/cons of the action, I wanted to look at a different segment of homeowners and how they are addressing the financial strain that home energy costs place on their bank account.

We are finding that many people are adopting high efficiency wood-fired central heating as a means to stem the flow of monies out the door to pay for heating their home. People with access to money or a loan — use that money to pay for high-efficiency wood furnace and then pay back the loan from the annual savings on their oil bill. This is pretty clever, and kudos to the local banks who provide these types of loans.

Now back to the LIHEAP contingency budget. What if that same loan-based approach was applied to the families and homeowners that currently receive funding or might be on the cusp of needing money from the program?

From a policy perspective it’s the “teach a man to fish parable” — the choice between a our tax dollars paying for foreign oil for 1 day of warmth, versus those dollars staying in our country and providing warmth year after year. The program has an incredible opportunity to reduce our dependence on imported energy, one low-income family at a time.

To learn more about LIHEAP in your area, visit the State Grantees website.

Incoming search terms:

• parable about home (3)
• bellevue wa energy assistance (1)
• modern day parables (1)
• low income home cleaning (1)
• liheap bellevue wa (1)
• home energy assistance program Bellevue WA (1)
• greenwood home energy (1)
• Greenwood energy assistance (1)
• energy assistance programs bellevue washington (1)
• energy assistance in bellevue (1)

According to a recent article in the peer-reviewed journal Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining (Biofpr), the wood pellet market is booming in Europe. In 2009, pellet production in Europe was greater than 10 million metric tons from approximately 650 pellet plants. Like most energy fuels, wood pellet prices are increasing.

After Europe, North America has the largest pellet production capacity, which grew from 1.1 million metric tons in 2003 to 6.2 million in 2009.

The report indicates that EU 2020 policy for renewable energy sources and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission will drive the market development. With these policies in place, the authors forecast that the demand, in Europe alone, for woody biomass will vary between 105 million metric tons to 300 metric tons — a 10 to 30 fold increase over the next nine years.

With this type of growth, the report states, “Public support is needed to cover the additional costs of capital investment, operation and maintenance of renewable energy equipment, and pellet fuel feedstock, in comparison with their fossil fuel alternatives.”

Watching from afar, there are several observations we can make about the contrasts in perspective — First, with such wide-spread adoption of the use of woody biomass fuels, public perception of wood heating must be quite positive. Secondly, with the rich natural resource supply here in North America, where is the U.S. policy and mindset on this topic?

Sadly, here in the U.S., woody biomass is still the forgotten step-child in the alternative energy discussion.

Incoming search terms:

• pellet market europe (7)
• wood pellet prices 2011 tennessee (5)
• wood pellet market 2011 (5)
• wood pellet market forecast (4)
• carbon debt (3)
• pellet market prices 2011 (3)
• european pellet market 2011 (3)
• pellets outlook (3)
• Wood Pellets Market 2011 (3)
• wood pellet price forecast (2)

The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission has made some improvements to their Residential Bulk-Fuel Fed Wood-Pellet Central Boilers and Furnaces program to allow more systems to qualify. If you live in the state of New Hampshire and are interested in installing a automated wood pellet boiler (like the Greenwood Denali Series), you may be eligible for a $6000 rebate from utility company.

Basically, a system must now only achieve an 80% efficiency and may also now require  some routine cleaning. In the rebate’s prior version, a unit must have been 85% efficient and self-cleaning. Judging from the limited success of the program, the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission wants to get some traction with the program.

To qualify, residents of New Hampshire must complete a two step application process. The first is to complete a pre-approval application and the second is to request the rebate. There are only enough monies in the program for 80 to 100 rebates so if you are interested, you should visit the Residential Bulk-Fed Wood-Pellet Central Boilers and Furnace Rebate Program website.

Incoming search terms:

• wood pellet furnace rebates in nh (2)
• Public Utilities COmmission New Hampshire residential pellet heat rebate (2)
• new hampshire pellet program (2)
• rebates nh pellets (1)
• pellets program new-hamps (1)
• pelletboiler usa (1)
• nh furnace rebates 2011 (1)
• NH enhances residential wood pellet heat incentive (1)
• New Hampshire step 1 pellet rebate (1)
• new hampshire heat rebates (1)

Anyone contemplating a big home improvement project to make their homes more energy efficient has missed a rather significant window. Beginning January 1st, the federal government slashed the tax credits for energy efficiency home upgrades from 30 percent to 10 percent and reduced the total available credit to $500. For more check out the 2011 Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency.

As a manufacturer, we like to stay on top of these developments and are also interested in how these changes in incentives will change buying behaviors. Suzanne Shelton, a contributor to Fast Company magazine, summarizes the impact as, “approximately one third of the population who made their home more energy efficient would likely not have acted or would not have purchased the more efficient unit if it weren’t for the incentives offered.”

I guess that leaves it to creative marketers, manufacturers and local utilities to create the proper motivation for purchasing greener appliances.

This past Friday the Tax Cut Compromise Package was signed into law by President Obama, and continues to draw fire from both political parties. Of significance to families who are looking to purchase a biomass or wood heater, the incentives will be severely cut beginning January 1, 2011.

The law reduces the biomass heater tax credit to 10% with a $300 cap and only allows the credit towards the purchase price and not for installation of the appliance. In addition, wood and pellet heating appliances were classified as an energy efficiency device instead of a renewable energy system. This classification limits the lifetime tax credit to $500.

By contrast, solar, wind and geothermal systems still enjoy the 30% tax credit of the past two years, with no maximum amount are now set to expire in 2016. This certainly does not appear consistent — it is time to let your voice be heard with your lawmakers.

For those interested in detail on all tax cuts, take a look here.

Incoming search terms:

• biomass heater (4)
• bio-mass appliance (1)
• biomass appliances tax credit (1)
• Biomass Heater Tax Credit (1)
• biomass heating appliance tax credit (1)
• tax credit for biomass heating appliances (1)

Wood heat is a political topic?

No, this is not the 19th century, but in today’s political climate, energy and energy security are core issues in the political debate.

Who would have imagined that wood boilers might have played a role in shaping the landscape? Over the past six months, we have had the pleasure of speaking with many state and national government representatives regarding the use of clean wood-fired central heating as an essential part of the nation’s energy portfolio — clearly the message is getting through.

As we get closer to November 2nd and the political race heats up — we encourage you to stay engaged with your local races and ensure that your elected officials understand the benefits of clean, renewable wood heat!

Incoming search terms:

• wood heat in washington state (1)

December 31st, 2010.

That is the date that federal tax credit is scheduled to expire for the purchase of new energy efficient products, including high-efficiency wood boilers. With the purchase of a qualifying product, the government will credit you 30 percent of the cost (and installation), up to $1,500.

So, why is this a big deal? Well, a tax credit is much more valuable than a tax deduction.

A deduction is an amount you can subtract from your taxable income. However, a tax credit lowers your actual tax bill dollar-for-dollar, in this case by up to $1,500. So a tax credit has a bigger impact on the money left in your pocket at the end of the day.

So, whether you are considering a wood gasification boiler, air conditioner, water heater or windows time is running out.

For more information, BuffaloNews.com has a great article.