The Online Stove Change-out Resource Center John Ackerly & Melissa Bollman Alliance for Green Heat Albany NY November 2016 Add AGH logo

501c3 nonprofit funded by foundations & grants A national voice for wood heat consumers Work for more incentives for the cleanest & most efficient biomass heaters Host technology design competitions to explore automated, “next generation” stoves Push for more transparency from manufacturers and EPA about testing and efficiencies. Integrate stoves into work of energy auditors and home energy professionals.

Current reach of organization Blog gets 30,000 readers each month Website gets about 30,000 hits per month Monthly newsletter goes to 10,000 people and read by about 2,000 per month Goal is 20% increase per year for all platforms Annual budget is now approximately $200,000

Online Stove Change-out Resource Center   Consumer Tips -   10 Best Practices   Analysis of Change-outs   List Of Programs   Vouchers vs Rebates   Recommendations for States   Program Monitoring   Sample Documents   Recommended Videos

35 change-out programs in 2016 Yellow stars: change-out program; Red circles: incentive programs Most comprehensive list and we will be keeping it updated. So please link to us and let us know if there are any errors or things you want us to add. Apologize if we missed any. Please let us know so that we can add them!

Averages and trends of 2016: data from these 35 programs gives valuable context Alaska    Colorado      Washington County      Fairbanks      Fort Collins Vermont      Arizona      Northern Colorado Washington      Phoenix    Idaho      Columbia Valley    California      Statewide      Kittitas      Alpine      Portneuf      Pierce      Bay Area Maine      Spokane      El Dorado Massachusetts      Thurston County      Marin      Vancouver      Northern Sonoma    Montana      Wenatchee      Placer      Butte-Silver Bow    Manufacturer      Plumas    Nevada      Jøtul      Sacramento      Western Nevada      San Lorenzo  New Hampsire      San Joaquin New York      San Luis Obispo      South Coast    Oregon      Truckee      Pendleton

Selected data from the 35 programs Avg. Wood stove incentive $910 Median wood stove incentive $600 Avg. Pellet stove incentive $1,290 Median pellet stove incentive $1,000 Avg. Bounty amount $400 Avg. Cost per change out $1,860 Avg. Lowest cost per stove $400 Avg. Highest cost per stove $3,000 % programs not requiring pro install 25% % programs not allowing wood stoves 25%

10 Best Practices Prioritize who gets funds, if funding is limited. Higher priority could go to homes that use wood as a primary heating source or homes in more densely populated areas. Give higher rebates and/or limit options to cleaner stoves.  More $ for pellet and/or gas or heat pumps Treat automated wood stoves like pellet stoves. Quadrafire’s Adventure stoves and MF Fire’s Catalyst represent a new era for wood stoves. Right size rebate. Closing program after a week is usually not a sign of success, but may mean smaller rebates should apply. These 10 best practices help focus on the real purpose of the program. The Puget Sound program and the VT or NY program are great examples. VT and NY are statewide – they don’t focus on the towns and valleys with the highest wintertime PM levels. A little more complexity is needed.

10 Best Practices – cont’d 4. Education. Education is very inconsistent and few “best practices” within this arena exist. 5. Bounty programs. They are generally under-utilized and could also apply to stove retailers, year-round. 6. Bounty programs. They are generally under-utilized and could also apply to stove retailers, year-round. 7. Efficiency. This is a hugely underappreciated arena. We believe its past time to stop putting public money into pellet stoves that are under 65 or 70% efficiency. These 10 best practices help focus on the real purpose of the program. The Puget Sound program and the VT or NY program are great examples. VT and NY are statewide – they don’t focus on the towns and valleys with the highest wintertime PM levels. A little more complexity is needed.

10 Best Practices – cont’d 7. Give consumers options not just on heating technologies, but also on whether to purchase from a specialty retailers or a big box store. 8. Advance policy steps. Prior to a change-out, jurisdictions should try to ensure that the future resale and installation of uncertified stoves is forbidden. Otherwise, program benefits will be undermined. 9. Energy audits, weatherization and low-income programs. Huge potential here. Change-out programs need to better integrate subsidized energy audits, weatherization and LIHEAP programs. Those programs have funds to replace old stoves! 10. Evaluation and monitoring. Should be integrated into the program from the start – not an afterthought – and made public. These 10 best practices help focus on the real purpose of the program. The Puget Sound program and the VT or NY program are great examples. VT and NY are statewide – they don’t focus on the towns and valleys with the highest wintertime PM levels. A little more complexity is needed.

Efficiencies 125 stove models, or 25% of all stoves, now have actual, listed efficiencies. Pellet stoves have widest range. Hybrids are cleanest on average. No change-out or incentive program prevents public funding going to the least efficient stoves, even for low-income households! Consumers often respond better to an efficiency message vs. an emission message

DOE WAP update Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) is finally better integrating wood and pellet stoves to the Health & Safety program requirments. Most states get WAP funds for subsidized weatherization and energy upgrade work, enabling contractors to inspect stoves, and potentially repair or replace it, just like they do with fossil fuel heaters. Check for EPA certification Check clearances, cracked glass, smoke leakage, etc. Should lead to more work for stove retailers & installers & chimney sweeps

Thank you! John Ackerly – jackerly@forgreenheat.org Melissa Bollman – melissa@forgreenheat.org Alliance for Green Heat Takoma Park, MD www.forgreenheat.org 301-204-9562