At the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Expo 2024 (HPBexpo) in Nashville, Tennessee (TN), the US Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced up to US$2 million in Phase 1 funding for six projects to accelerate wood heater innovation and develop the next generation of efficient and clean wood heaters.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), millions of American households use wood heater technology for home heat, and it remains a vital way to affordably heat homes with a low-carbon renewable fuel.
To ensure that wood heating continues as a renewable energy option, this FY23 Wood Heater Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) funding will help the wood heater industry accelerate the modernization of wood heating stoves to be cleaner, more efficient, and have the potential to reduce the national costs associated with thermal energy.
Funded by BETO and administered by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the Wood Heater Innovation Collaboration (WHIC) will oversee the FY23 Wood Heater CRADA, and leverage their unique expertise to work with award recipients to develop and validate innovative wood heater technologies.
The following projects were selected each with US$300,000 in federal funding:
- Evaluation of the performance of particulate matter sensor technologies to cost-effectively quantify emissions from wood heaters in the lab and in-situ. Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA), Arlington, Virginia (VA) will work with LBNL to evaluate the performance of particulate matter (PM) sensor technologies to cost-effectively quantify emissions from wood heaters in the lab and in situ .
- Development of a wood stove draft prediction tool to guide manufacturers and installers on wood heater or chimney parameters. Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA), Arlington, Virginia (VA) will also work with LBNL to develop a wood stove draft prediction tool to guide manufacturers and installers on wood heater or chimney parameters.
- Thermal storage solution for wood stove providing constant heat output in an ideal thermal range. ISB Marketing Inc., South Bend, Indiana (IN) in conjunction with Stove Builder International, will work with BNL on a thermal storage solution for wood stoves providing constant heat output in an ideal thermal range.
- Development and verification of a portable flue gas sampling dilution system for use in the field to assess wood heater emissions. Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), Boston, Massachusetts (MA) will work with BNL to develop and verify a portable flue gas sampling dilution for use in the field to assess wood heater emissions.
- Demonstration of the efficiency and market readiness of an electrostatic precipitator retrofit technology to reduce wood heater emissions. One World Resource Management, Bonney Lake, Washington (WA) in conjunction with OekoSolve, will work with BNL to demonstrate the efficiency and market readiness of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) retrofit technology to reduce wood heater emissions.
- Optimization and validation of an opacity emissions sensor to inform a wood stove air supply controller. Smokeless Chimney, Centralia, Washington (WA) will work with LBNL to optimize and validate an opacity emissions sensor to inform a wood stove air supply controller.
