Keremeos Review - B.C. invests $400,000 to reduce smoke from wood stoves

Keremeos Review - B.C. invests $400,000 to reduce smoke from wood stoves

Check out this article on the BC Woodstove Changeout

Gas Fireplace Efficiency

This week I will be travelling to Mississauga to attend the latest meeting of the CSA Technical Committee on Energy Efficiency and Related Performance of Fuel-Burning Appliances and Equipment. The last meeting was in St John's last June. I am a voting member of this most important committee as is Martin Miles, the chair of our national Government Affairs committee. This TC sets the terms of reference for a plethora of performance standards such as P. 4 and B415. I will also be taking the opportunity of meeting with folks from Natural Resources Canada with whom I have an on-going dialogue.
Gas Fireplaces are not currently regulated for minimum efficiencies. This will change. Our challenge is to ensure that regulators understand the rationale of not setting these minimums too high and not applying minimum efficiencies to "decorative appliances". Gas fireplaces are not purely utility appliances. They need to be aesthetically pleasing and treating them in the same way as furnaces or water heaters is unreasonable.
This is an extensive and complicated area which has taken up a lot of my time, and that of volunteers, over recent months. It encompasses the future of pilot lights, thermostats, maximum BTU limits, the marketing of "decorative" units and the reworking of the performance standard p.4. The process is further influenced and complicated by similar events taking place in the US.
At worst many gas fireplaces, as we know them, could be regulated out of existence. I am pleased to say, though, that the folks at NR Can seem committed to working with us so as to achieve an outcome that the industry can accept.
Discussions will no doubt continue for months to come.

Tony Gottschalk,
Manager: HPBAC

Wood Stove Change Out Program Coming to Ontario

Last week, along with Craig Gutowski and Andrew Vickers from HPBAC's Ontario chapter, I met with staff from Ontario's Ministry of Environment in Toronto.
We have been working closely with them for over a year now, assisting them with their development of guidelines for municipalities who wish to pass by-laws regulating the use of wood burning for residential heating. Through our involvement and a lot of hard work, these guidelines are now well balanced and "industry friendly" while still assisting municipalities in dealing effectively with air shed quality issues.
During our discussions, we often spoke of the need for a change out program. As we all know the old technology stoves are the real problem, not the modern appliances we now supply. So last week we started mapping out a plan together and hope to have something ready to launch in June 2011. We have invited the Ministry folks to the Fireside Symposium in Collingwood where we hope they will present the new municipal guidelines as well as details of the change out program.

Tony Gottschalk

HPBAC 2010 AGM Results

Over 50 members joined the HPBAC board for the 2010 Annual General Meeting at Woodbine Racetrack on Monday, November 15th. Members heard from four HPBAC committees on their activities and the issues the industry is facing in Canada. Jack Goldman of HPBA filled them in on major developments in the US.

Following the meeting, the guests adjourned to the dining room for a wonderful buffet dinner and to lay bets on the horses.

Congratulations to David Malcolm of Over Ridge Fireplaces & Grills in Port Perry, ON who won our door prize - dinner for two at Woodbine Race Track.

Each guest received a $5 voucher for the slots. Martin Miles of Miles Industries managed to parlay his voucher into $95 while Norma Bourque won $50 and Kim Davis won $19.

To receive the minutes of the Annual General Meeting please contact hpbac@bellnet.ca

Time is running out to register for the HPBAC AGM and a Night at the Races

Don't miss this great event. You can join the Annual General Meeting by teleconference or come to Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto at 5:00 pm on Monday, November 15th to attend in person. And join industry colleagues for dinner and an exciting evening at the track.

For information on how to join by teleconference please contact 1-800-792-5284.

Stoves heat things up

Stoves heat things up

Attend HPBAC 2010 Annual General Meeting & Night at the Races via @constantcontact

Register for the 2010 HPBAC Annual General Meeting and join us for A Night at the Races

Click this link for more details and to register:

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Attend-HPBAC-2010-Annual-General-Meeting---Night-at-the-Races.html?soid=1101832902636&aid=jEbpwne617w

Why Wood Stoves will form an important part of tomorrow's energy mix

Are Log Burners Tomorrows Heating Technology?
07.08.2010 Author: Marissa Clijsters Posted in Environmental
As an example of an environmentally sound, high efficiency technology with a promising future before of it, most people likely would not straight away think of the wood burner. This is, when all is said and done, an item that seems to have altered hardly at all since its invention a couple of centuries back.

But take a deeper look and you’ll find that the old-style exterior design is only there to provide aesthetic appeal. Most modern wood burners are capable of combustion performance comparable to a regular gas boiler. Modern regulations have forced manufacturers to radically improve the internal technology in order to comply with increasingly tight standards.

Yet strangely, while most people think nothing of lighting a gas flame, they hesitate when it comes to burning logs. Perhaps because the emissions are more visible with wood smoke and of course it’s quite clearly a dead tree. But the interesting thing is that although burning wood does release carbon dioxide, growing another tree will soak back up the same amount – hence there is no net CO2 gain.

When trees are used as a managed resource, there are as many planted as are felled – and of course there is always a sizable stock representing the stages from sapling to mature tree. The point being that each tree in this cycle absorbs as much CO2 during its growth as it will release when burned (or indeed left to rot).

In contrast to fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas whereby CO2 is released to the air but never reclaimed, growing woody biomass (as trees are termed) ensures that the levels of CO2 remain in balance.

Now unless you’ve been living in cave, you’ll be aware that anything that helps to slow, halt or reverse CO2 pollution is increasingly important both and into the foreseeable future. A proven, effective and sustainable source of energy that at the very least doesn’t make matters worse is going to appear pretty dammed attractive.

With both regulatory “push” (incentive schemes and grants etc.) and consumer “pull” as more people are persuaded of the benefits, you don’t need a crystal ball to predict a rosy future ahead for the log burning stove.

For those able to make use of woodburners, this technology provides a comparatively (compared to oil and gas) cheap way of providing heat and hot water. However, it is not fully scalable and not anyway an answer to all our current problems. It is however not about to slip quietly into the history books any time soon.

Western Chapter to host Tee it Up Summer Socials
They're going to be fun, informative events and a great way to reacquaint ourselves with one another.

Join in anytime...
4:30 pm to 5:45 pm Golf social with friends

• Come swing, wack, chip or putt your way around the practice green and driving range. All abilities welcom! Complimentary bucket of balls and clubs.

6pm to 7pm Dinner is served

• Sit down and enjoy a BBQ buffet with all the fixings, complete with dessert and beverages.

7 pm to 9 pm Industry Updates & YOU

• Informal gathering highlighting industry news and chapter updates
• The BIG announcement - Terasen Gas rolls out their $50,000 EnerChoice program for 2010/11
• Floor is open to answer your questions and discuss issues facing you and your region

Everyone is welcome!

Invite your friends, family and co-workers.

Members & Guests $20 each

Non-Members $25

Cash Bar

Registration required two weeks prior to the event.

Call 604-941-4172 or 1-800-792-5284 for more information and a registration form or visit the whpba.ca website or hpbacanada.org website

This event would not be possible without the support of our sponsors - Terasen Gas, Blaze King, Canned Heat, Concorde Distributing, ICC, Mr. Fireplace, Napoleon Fireplaces, Northwest Stoves, Pacific Energy, Regency, Valor, and SCHOTT Robax

Municipal by-laws

HPBAC frequently works with municipalities to develop by-laws that address nuisance smoke and yet are fair and reasonable to the industry. HPBAC posts a model by-law, in both languages, on its website to facilitate this process. Most recently, the association has been working with the city of Prince George, B.C.

Gas showroom safety in Ontario

An advisory was issued by Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) in Ontario last July about requirements for product hook-up in gas showrooms. The TSSA is a provincial body, only operating in Ontario. HPBAC became aware of the advisory towards the end of last year as inspectors starting knocking on doors. The requirements are extremely onerous. HPBAC has been in discussions with TSSA with the objective of finding a way to achieve the safety objectives without putting retailers out of business. Industry meetings were held in May in Ottawa, Toronto and London to which TSSA staff were invited. The meetings were extremely well attended and proved very fruitful. The gas safety code allows for different hook up requirements for temporary installations such as trade shows and TSSA, at HPBAC’s instigation, has agreed in principal, to extend this provision to gas showrooms. Two trials will now be conducted. TSSA will require an automatic CO alarm and cut off. HPBAC has assisted in the sourcing of this device.

Gas Fireplace Efficiency

Following the US DOE final ruling on hearth products, NR Can has contacted HPBAC to “discuss the future of gas fireplace efficiency in Canada”. They are clearly looking at minimum efficiencies and the outlawing of standing pilots. They are however accepting of the fact that they do not fully understand our industry and are therefore seeking our engagement from the start.. Tony Gottschalk had an informal meeting with a representative from NR Can at the CSA conference in St Johns in June. A more formal meeting is likely to follow in Ottawa in the fall. Any new regs would seem years away but this could change as they will inevitably be heavily influenced by developments in the US.

Municipal wood burning by-laws for Ontario

The Ontario Ministry of Environment is in the process of preparing a document designed to give guidelines to municipalities that wish to pass by-laws controlling all types of burning. On seeing the first draft, HPBAC met with the Ministry and persuaded it to delay publication by at least six months. The first draft was full of errors and completely unbalanced in regard to our industry. A constructive on-going dialogue has ensued. Further meetings have taken place and the third draft is due in July. At HPBAC’s request, the document will have substantial revisions and is now to be split into two with our industry’s products being separated from open burning.

New Wood Burning Regulations For B.C.

British Columbia is in the process of reviewing its residential wood-burning regulations. HPBAC has been fully engaged. The BC Intentions Paper, outlining BC’s proposed approach, was due last fall but was delayed as a result of staffing issues within the Ministry of Sport and Healthy Living. It was finally released in May. The proposal is broadly based on Washington state emission levels and the new CSA B415 in terms of its treatment of central systems. It also proposes that any, more stringent, requirements coming out of the NSPS process in the US would automatically be adopted in BC. All HPBAC manufacturing members and BC members have been sent the relevant link which includes instructions for commenting. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/codes/solid-fuel/index.htm. HPBAC’s national GAC developed a largely positive response which was delivered to the Ministry in June. Comments were due by July 2nd.

The Latest from Montreal

In the Spring of 2009, despite a strong campaign by APC that was well supported by HPBA and HPBAC, the Montréal City Council voted in favor of banning the installation of all new cordwood fueled heating appliances within the city. APC subsequently launched a legal challenge against the new by-law, based on the premise that it had no credible scientific basis. The first hearing by the Québec provincial court regarding APC’s legal action against the city occurred in November. The judge ruled that the case had sufficient merit to go forward to a full hearing, probably sometime this summer. The by-law stays in force until then. It should be noted that no other Canadian jurisdiction has indicated it has any plans to follow Montréal’s lead. Four Canadian manufacturers have contributed a total of $10,000 towards APC’s mounting legal costs.

The Review of the EPA NSPS- How will it affect your business?

by John Crouch, HPBA/PFI Staff


As everyone in our industry now knows, the EPA is deep into the process of reviewing their program that certifies clean burning wood stoves, which is formally known as the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Wood Heaters. A lot of retailers and reps have questions about how these changes might affect their business, so HPBA has produced a short Q&A piece for the affiliate newsletters.

What is NSPS?

The NSPS is the EPA's wood stove certification program. It is the rule which was adopted in 1988 that requires that all wood stoves manufactured or imported in the U.S. be certified by the EPA. This current review is the first revision of this rule in 20 years.


What will this review cover?

The EPA is at least considering covering everything that burns solid fuel in this review;

• A lower passing grade for wood stoves
• Certification process for pellet stoves and boilers, as well as corn stoves
• Removal of the exemption for single burn rate heaters and furnaces
• Factory built and masonry fireplaces
• Masonry heaters
• Outdoor hydronic heaters
  

How will everything get certified and will there be enough time?

This is one of the key issues for HPBA. Some of these products will need more time than others to get all of the models certified. How long the passing grades are for each product will also impact how long it takes to recertify the line. It's quite possible that there will be seasons where not all of your favourite models have completed the new certification. There will be many detailed changes to both the wood stove and the pellet stove test, and it's impossible to know which units will be easy to recertify and which will be difficult.

What is HPBA doing about the NSPS process?

HPBA has retained the very best professional assistance available to us: Mr. David Menotti, of the law firm of Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw Pittman. David has represented our industry on air quality issues since 1985 with the state regulation in Colorado, and he was instrumental in the negotiations that lead to the first NSPS in 1988. David is now a well-known air attorney and has represented many industries (such as the American iron and steel industry) on issues with the EPA.

HPBA is also using the services of Bob Ferguson, who was once the lead engineer at Vermont Castings, and is now a private consultant. Bob is working very hard on the details of the new pellet stove test method, and on a new ASTM test process for stick stoves, which may remove some of the 'busy work' in the certification testing process, which in turn will lower those costs. Bob is also assembling blinded data for all the test runs for all the existing certified stoves, which will help determine the new passing grade. In addition, many members have volunteered extraordinary amounts of time in meetings and strategy sessions, with the full support of their companies.

This sounds expensive; are the manufacturers paying for this?

The HPBA board of directors voted to assess solid fuel hearth manufacturers for half of the costs of this effort and match that with funds from our Government Affairs budget. Every company whose product depends on solid fuel has been assessed each quarter for their share of actual expenses. All appliance manufacturers and importers, as well as all chimney, hearth pad, and accessory members have been invoiced. In the two invoices sent in 2009 almost $50,000 was raised from Manufacturers above and beyond their dues. This is being matched from the HPBA Government Affairs budget. Of course, existing HPBA staff assets are being used wherever possible, and many key volunteers have contributed hundreds of hours of their time gratis.

I've donated to my affiliate's NSPS effort; on what will my donation be spent?

Our team is in frequent contact with the EPA staff, including face to face meetings in North Carolina, Oregon, and Georgia. In addition, the ASTM working groups are meeting twice a month, generally by phone, to plan the new test methods. In 2009 our legal bills and meeting expenses exceeded $200,000. Affiliate contributions are being used to support the general program and to minimize the disruption to our industry.

Your donation and sacrifice is very much appreciated!

2010 will be the cusp, the key moment, of this whole process.

What wood stoves and pellet stoves look like and how well they operate (heat) for the next 10-20 years, may well be determined over the next 12 - 18 months. Even though this is a tough year for all of us, we can't let up.

HPBAC Meets With TSSA To Discuss Gas Showroom Advisory

Following an advisory by TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) concerning the venting of gas showroom fireplaces in Ontario, representatives from HPBAC met with the authority last Tuesday (April 13th). An in principal and practical way forward was mapped out.
In May HPBAC Ontario Chapter will be holding three industry meetings in Ottawa, London and Toronto to better inform both members and non members alike. Representatives from TSSA will be present. All are welcome. Please register in advance.
Details are available from Elena Morrison at: hpbacontario@bellnet.ca

CSA B366 Draft out for public review

The latest version of B366.1, Solid Fuel-Fired Central Heating Appliances, is now available for public review:

https://review.csa.ca/opr/opr_list.asp

Check out my @constantcontact newsletter

February 2010 HPBAC Voice Newsletter
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs046/1101832902636/archive/1103023825576.html

PLUG PULLED ON FEDERAL ECOENERGY RETROFIT PROGRAM: FUTURE OF MATCHING PROVINCIAL PROGRAMS UNCLEAR

The federal government has suspended the Eco-Energy Retrofit Homes Program. After promising that the program would be available until March 2011, Ottawa announced that it would no longer accept applications to book pre-retrofit evaluations as of midnight on March 31, 2010. This means that anyone who has not already booked an evaluation is no longer eligible for a rebate. The program provided homeowners with incentives to have their homes evaluated for energy efficiency, and then perform upgrades to improve their rating. One of the qualifying upgrades was changing out old technology woodstoves. Critics are already voicing their concern and disapproval of the decision, on the heels of the Home Renovation Tax Credit being recently extinguished.
Cancelling the retrofit program is a serious mistake, says Green Communities Canada. "Canada needs to get with the program," said Clifford Maynes, executive director of Green Communities Canada. "Instead of turning its back on energy efficiency, Ottawa should demonstrate vision and leadership. Canada needs a bold commitment to bring Canada's inefficient housing stock into the 21st Century."
The decision by the federal government seems to have taken the provinces by surprise. No news yet as to how the matching provincial programs may be affected, although the federal government has said it will continue to offer administrative support for those programs.

One of many reasons why the installation of clean wood burning heating appliances should never have been banned in Montreal

Winds cut power for 95,000 in Quebec
Schools close because of dangerous driving conditions
Last Updated: Friday, February 26, 2010 9:50 AM ET Comments8Recommend9
CBC News
High winds cut power to about 95,000 Hydro-Québec customers Friday morning, while officials closed dozens of schools because of blustery road conditions.
Environment Canada issued wind warnings for Montreal, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City and reported gusts as high as 90 km/h in several regions including the Laurentians, the Lanaudière, and the Outaouais.
The hydro outages are affecting 14,000 customers in Quebec City, 3,200 in Chaudière Appalaches, 15,300 in the Laurentians, 17,500 in the Lanaudière, 5,500 in the Outaouais, and 2,100 households in Laval.
The power utility said it could take part of the day to restore electricity to all its customers.
Most schools in the greater Quebec City region were closed, including those under the Central Quebec School Board, because of high winds and blowing snow on major highways in the area.
Transport Quebec urged drivers to be cautious.
On Thursday, the Transport Ministry closed Highway 10 in the Eastern Townships because of high winds, blowing snow and poor visibility.Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/02/26/wind-gusts-knock-out-power-in-quebec.html#ixzz0genfEPEC

From the New York Times

December 31, 2009, 9:15 am — Updated: 10:22 pm -->
The Smoldering Wood Pellet Business
By JOHN LORINC
With millions of families preparing to pitch their Christmas trees, the North American wood pellet industry is thinking optimistically about environmentally minded uses for waste timber.
Associated Press The wood pellet industry is poised for expansion.
This month, a start-up in Arkansas, NexGen Biomass, announced plans to build 150-employee plant capable of producing 440,000 tons of pellets a year on the site of a former saw mill in El Dorado. It is the second such investment in the state this year, according to The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
In August, Phoenix Renewable Energy started construction on a $110 million pellet processing facility in Camden, Ark.
Both are responding to Europe’s rapidly growing appetite for biomass fuel.
A milled wood pellet is slightly smaller than a multivitamin tablet. Made from timber harvesting residue or sawdust, pellets can be burned in residential wood stoves, or ground up and used in industrial heating applications. The so-called pelletization process concentrates energy and reduces moisture content.
According to The Timber Trades Journal, a British publication, the North American wood pellet market has grown sixfold in the last five years, largely on the strength of exports to the European Union, which wants to move to 20 percent renewable energy by 2020.
The American South, the journal reports, is expected to become North America’s leading pellet-producing and exporting region.
The Pellet Fuels Institute, based in Washington, estimates that North American production reached about 6.2 million metric tons in 2009.
Canadian firms, the institute noted, were first to tap into the market.
In recent years, British Columbia leaped into the pellet sector as the province’s timber industry struggled to find alternative uses for trees infested with the Asian pine beetle. Ontario is also looking to stoke the pellet market as a major electrical utility, Ontario Power Generation, moves to convert one of its coal-powered plants to biomass fuel by 2012.
In the United States, meanwhile, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a provision to spur consumer interest in wood heat, offering consumers a tax credit of up to $1,500 for the installation of a 75 percent efficient biomass stove.
From an emissions perspective, pellet proponents argue that this form of fuel is greenhouse gas neutral, because burning wood doesn’t release additional carbon into the atmosphere.