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Top stories in past issues:
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Tom Butcher is Brookhaven Lab's home-heating tech wizardAt Brookhaven National Laboratory, where researchers probe atomic matter to unlock secrets of the universe, Tom Butcher has made a science out of studying everyday furnaces, boilers and chimneys. Butcher, who for decades has led the lab's energy conversion group, is among the world's foremost experts on home heating systems. His research has revolutionized nearly every aspect of the industry, making burners and exhaust systems more efficient, proving the viability of fuels derived from plant and animal fats and prompting sweeping regulations to reduce pollution.
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Have a printer, scanner or computer that is still relatively up to date and in good working order that you don't need? Donate it to the Alliance for Green Heat and get a tax credit. Contact: [email protected]
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Pellet Stove Challenge Update
 An independent assessment of popular pellet stoves found that pellet stoves, unlike most wood stoves, can achieve low levels of emissions in real world settings that are in line with laboratory results. This testing is the kickoff to the April 2016 Pellet Stove Design Challenge. For the Design Challenge, We are seeking innovative high performing stoves or prototypes from inventors, universities, and companies. The stoves will all be tested and prizes given out in various categories.  We rated stoves on cleanliness, efficiency, maintenance, heat output and glass visibility. We could not rate on reliability. We used the same brand of PFI certified pellets with typical ash content to ensure comparative results. The Quadra-Fire Mt. Vernon AE received the highest overall score, followed by the Harman Accentra 52i and the Enviro M55.  One of the unique findings of this report is that we were able to assess BTU output, burn rates and burn times. We found exaggeration in manufacturer BTU claims and identified which stoves had the best turndown ratios. We also found that one stove - the Quadra-Fire Mt. Vernon could run nearly 50 hours on a single hopper of pellets.
 Teams are beginning to get ready for the April 2016 competition. Judges will select finalists in January. There will be commercial pellet stoves, prototypes and souped up pellet stoves. If you can adapt an existing stove and show real performance improvements, please consider submitting an application. This is also a great opportunity for any company looking to enter the US market and learn about the certification testing process.
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AGH Projects and Activities
US government projects continued increase in wood and pellet heating T he US government agency responsible for tracking energy supply and usage released its annual winter fuels outlook. The report predicted that next winter will be warmer than average but energy prices will be lower. Consequently, consumers are expected to pay 10 - 20% less on their household heating.
52 stoves now have verified efficiencies on the updated EPA list of certified stoves. Jotul deserves special mention for having more stoves on the list than any other manufacturer. Most manufacturers are still not willing to disclose their verified efficiencies to the public. Also, the EPA has officially dropped their default efficiency numbers, so default efficiencies are now a thing of the past.
Eight states now give some statewide rebate or tax incentive for pellet stoves. Five years ago, only 2 states had incentives. This is important progress for a renewable technology with huge potential in America.
The Volkswagen scandal should be a wake up call for stove and boilers manufacturers. The gap between how stoves and boilers perform in the lab vs. the real world needs to be addressed. In the case of outdoor boilers, it led to a credibility gap that cast a shadow over all wood heating equipment.
AGH has openings for both interns and research fellows in its Takoma Park office. The positions come with small stipends and a great opportunity to get experience in a dynamic renewable energy sector.
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Focus on Incentives
They found in the UK that many households install renewables without using the incentive program to avoid burdensome paperwork and other requirements. This also happens in Maryland and New York, where folks would rather forgo the stove rebate so they can install themselves and not have the system inspected for safety.
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Focus on Innovation
 We believe it is possible (scientifically and mathematically) to produce a zero emissions woodstove. Not "zero" in the absolute sense, but with emissions that are so low that they are negligible, both in a test lab setting and more importantly in the "real world".
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Focus on Cookstoves
Jacob Moss is the winner of one of this year's prestigious Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, also known as the "Sammie" award. Jacob spearheaded a global initiative that seeks to eliminate the threat of toxic smoke from indoor cookstoves, one of the deadliest threats facing billions of people across the developing world.
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International
Italy: After the value added tax on wood pellets had been increased more than twice, the Italian government created a new VAT rate of 10%, which was the tax rate before its boosting. UK: Popular elsewhere in Europe, briquettes are beginning to take off in the UK. They are good for your fireplace or stove, your pocket, and the environment.
UK: Scotland is making quick progress on its goal of achieving 11 percent of its nonelectric heat demand to come from renewables by 2020, as the country increased its renewable heat capacity by 42 percent from 2013 to 2014.
Canada: Thanks to a new bylaw, the City of Montreal is reminding you that if you have a wood-burning stove or a fireplace, you have to let the city know about it by Dec. 22.
Australia: Wood heaters could be banned in the town of Armidale after smoke exceeded health standards in 13 out of the 14 days monitored. The councilors want to ban wood heaters installed in new homes and also ban the installation of any new wood heaters.
States
AK: Two years ago, an engineer in the Interior Alaska city known for its unforgiving climate built a house that is kept toasty without fossil fuels and uses a mere fraction of the energy typically needed, even at 30 below.
CA: Beware of sensationalist headlines from the CA Bay Area on their new rules. Not much changed for stoves. Under the new rule, any homeowner can install an EPA-certified wood or pellet stove in any existing home. Fireplaces and stoves, however, cannot be built into new construction.
CA: Sonoma County supervisors this week renewed a program offering some businesses and residents financial rebates for replacing old wood stoves with new, more environmentally friendly appliances.
CA: The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District will receive $255,400 from the U.S.EPA to get area residents to switch from old wood-burning stoves to energy-efficient ones.
IN: Indiana environmental groups want Hoosiers to replace their pollution-emitting outdoor wood boilers, and a new grant program could help pay for people to move to renewable home energy alternatives.
MD: Because wood energy conversion systems have the potential to significantly lower fuel and electricity bills while burning renewable, locally sourced, low-emissions wood fuels, MEA will provide grants to conduct wood energy feasibility studies at eligible facilities in Maryland.
NH: This Residential Wood-Pellet Boiler and Furnace Rebate Program offers rebates of 30 percent (up to $6,000) for high-efficiency, bulk-fed, wood-pellet heating boilers and furnaces.
NV: The Wood Stove Change-Out Campaign will provide area residents with incentives to replace their old, dirty-burning wood stoves with today's cleaner-burning hearth heating appliances.
NY: National Grid customers in upstate New York are expected to pay about 2 percent less to heat their homes with natural gas this winter than a year ago.
VT: Armed with $1.6 million in grant funding, clean-energy advocates are extolling the benefits of converting Windham County's schools and municipal buildings to "advanced" wood heat.
WA: The new rule requires any wood stove that is not EPA certified to be removed and recycled, or rendered inoperable.
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Upcoming Conferences and Webinars
November 5, 2015, 2:00pm-3:30pm EST
The U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will present information about burning clean with wood stoves.
Washington DC, November 17 -18, 2015 A coalition of rural, renewable energy, and natural resource interests from across the U.S. will gather for an education and outreach event. Catonsville, MD, November 19, 2015
Those interested in the MEA grant program can gain in-depth exposure to selecting best projects and financing opportunities. Orlando, FL, January 23-27, 2016
Part of the 2016 ASHRAE Winter Conference. Kirkland, WA, January 29-31, 2016
The largest annual North American gathering of the cook stove community. Saratoga Springs, NY, February 9-10, 2016
This conference offers education in home performance and weatherization. Agenda proposals are now being accepted. Verona, Italy, February 24-28, 2016
Progetto Fuoco is a global event for wood-fire heating, with an international exhibition of plants and materials. Wels, Austria, February 24-26, 2016
A conference to present the work of young researchers in the field of energy efficiency (English only).
New Orleans, March 17-19, 2016
North America's largest indoor-outdoor living industry showcase. Burlington, VT, April 29-May 1, 2016Almost 2,000 attendees are expected at what has become one of the fastest-growing biomass thermal energy conferences in the US.
Upton New York, April 6-8, 2016. A pellet stove technology competition, workshops, hands-on-learning, roundtables, and much more. Stove designs now being accepted for the competition.
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