[Stoves] EPA finalizes NSPS for residential wood heaters

Tue Mar 3 10:50:17 CST 2015

Dear Friends of Biomass Burners

Biomass Magazine: Overview of regulations
<http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/11513/epa-finalizes-nsps-for-residentia
l-wood-heaters?utm_source=March+2015+Newsletter&utm_campaign=Mar+15+Newslett
er&utm_medium=email>  

This balanced overview quotes Jack Goldman (HPBA), Jennifer Hedrick (PFI)
and John Ackerly (AGH).

"The new rule, however, does set the first-ever federal standards for
hydronic heaters, wood-fired forced air furnaces, pellet stoves and a
previously unregulated type of wood stove called a single burnrate stove."

[Can anyone define a single burnrate stove? TLUD, maybe?]

Families for Clean Air: NSPS a sell-out to stove industry?
<https://www.centralmaine.com/2015/02/04/epa-approves-new-woodstove-emission
s-standards/?utm_source=March+2015+Newsletter&utm_campaign=Mar+15+Newsletter
&utm_medium=email>  

The EPA's new rules was applauded by health and environmental groups as a
way to lower emissions. But a closer look shows that this limit may have no
effect-or even the opposite effect-on emissions in the longer term.

Apparently not everyone is happy about this, though the Association for
producers seems to be:

"With the new furnaces you need wood cut 6 months -1 year in advance, many
people will not do that." 

>From Wyoming: Too much regulation is intrusive
<http://www.9and10news.com/story/28064558/new-epa-guidelines-limit-what-kind
-of-wood-stoves-you-can-buy?utm_source=March+2015+Newsletter&utm_campaign=Ma
r+15+Newsletter&utm_medium=email>   

Wyoming Senator Lummis: "The EPA has too much time, personnel and money ...
and is now regulating, of all things...wood stoves"

>From Missouri: so against regulation
<http://luetkemeyer.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398537&utm
_source=March+2015+Newsletter&utm_campaign=Mar+15+Newsletter&utm_medium=emai
l>    

Congressman Luetkemeyer says its "beffudling" that EPA would regulate wood
stoves when "12 percent of all homes, burn wood as their primary heating
fuel." [Editor's note: Primary wood heating accounts for 2.1% of US homes.]
He plans to introduce more legislation to strip the NSPS of key standards.

The water heating stoves are permitted emissions measured in the units "PM
mass/unit of heat from the fire" (as far as I can understand the
regulations) meaning per unit of heat theoretically generated, not per unit
of heat delivered. If you know this interpretation is incorrect I would like
to hear about from you.

For new woodstoves it is mass per hour without regard for the size of the
stove which the cooking stove community may find odd.  The reason is that
each home is permitted to emit a certain mass into the air around their
house.

"The EPA has set step one emissions limits for new woodstoves and pellet
stoves as 4.5 grams of particulate matter (PM) per hour of operation for
catalytic and noncatalytic stoves. The step two PM limit is 2 grams per hour
for catalytic and noncatalytic stoves if emissions are tested using cribs or
2.5 grams per hour if tested with cord wood using an EPA approved method."

That 4.5g is 1.25 mg per second. If that was from a 7 kW fire and the
thermal efficiency is 70%, it is 255 mg/delivered MJ so it is a pretty high
number.

Masonry heaters are not yet regulated as there is not an agreed test method.

Regards

Crispin

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.bioenergylists.org/pipermail/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org/attachments/20150303/68142eb8/attachment.html>