a green label for wood stoves? - rumford fireplacesthey operate their wood stoves and fire-places,...

As most of us know, when a consumer purchases a new major appliance, officeequipment, some types of residential heating and cooling equipment and evenhome electronics, the Energy Star label often plays a big role in the purchasingdecision. Energy Star is a voluntary labeling program introduced by the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that is designed to promote energy-effi-cient products and to reduce air emissions.

The Energy Star program has been a great success and, since its inception in1992, has grown to incorporate over 35 product categories. To most consumersan Energy Star label means that the product will deliver the same or better per-formance as comparable models without the label while using less energy and,importantly, saving money.

�This [success of voluntary programs] demonstrates the power of personal choice.From light bulbs to entire homes, people purchasing energy efficient products wereable to protect the environment and save money. Our corporate partners, too, aredemonstrating that helping the environment can help their bottom line.�

� Mike Leavitt EPA Administrator

o, how about an energy/environmental label for wood stoves? The conceptrecently captured the attention of the EPA, and is now referred to as theGreen Label Wood Stoves Project. However, some people in the hearth

industry question the concept�s efficacy for wood stoves and are being very cau-tious. Because OMNI Consulting Services and its sister companies, OMNI Envi-ronmental Services and OMNI-Test Laboratories, have been in the wood stovetesting and research business since 1979, and that line of work probably will remainone of our mainstays in the foreseeable future, we decided to get opinions fromboth sides.

To do this we interviewed the key players in the EPA, as well as John Crouch,director of Public Affairs for the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA).Four EPA staff members were interviewed. They were as follows: Karen Blan-chard, the Program Implementation and Review Group leader, is the manager fornumerous regulatory and voluntary projects, including this project and others thatare being explored for wood stoves; Larry Brockman is the team leader for the

by James E. Houck and David R. Broderick

46 HEARTH & HOME MARCH 2004

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The EPA is considering a GreenLabel program for wood stoves.It would be similar to that agency’sEnergy Star programs, and couldbecome a basis for increasedchange-outs of older stoves.

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A GREEN LABELfor Wood Stoves?


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Wood Stove/Smoke Reduction Initiativethat is now under consideration; GilWood is the staff lead for the poten-tial voluntary Green Label Wood StovesProject; Mike Toney is the staff leadfor the consensus efficiency test methodfor wood stoves and consensus emis-sion test method for fireplaces.

First we interviewed the EPA staff.

OMNI: Could you provide an overviewof the proposed program for Green LabelWood Stoves?

LARRY BROCKMAN: �The GreenLabel Wood Stoves program actuallyis part of a larger effort our office hasrecently started. We have begun a Vol-

untary Wood Stove/Fireplace SmokeReduction Initiative aimed at improv-ing public health from exposure towood smoke. As Hearth & Home read-ers know, wood smoke is made up ofa complex mixture of toxic gases, suchas benzo(a)pyrene, and fine particles.

�In the last several years, there hasbeen heightened concern regardinghealth effects of fine particles. We feelthere are opportunities to partner witha variety of stakeholders to help addressfine particles and toxic pollutants withthis overall initiative, especially in areaswhere communities may be interestedin voluntary measures. We hope thiswill reduce the need for additional reg-ulations in some areas.

�We have spoken with a number ofstakeholders, including the Hearth, Patio& Barbecue Association, to determinewhat EPA should include in our initia-tive. As a result, we are considering thefollowing: a new Fireplace/Wood Stoveweb site geared toward consumers, com-

munity groups and regulators; a Ready-to-Go Media Outreach Package for themedia to use during pre-wood stove/fire-place burning seasons and pre/post-stormnews events, and more wood stovechange-out programs, recognizing this iswhere we can make the biggest differ-ence for the environment if we can imple-ment it nationwide.

�We believe the Green Label WoodStoves program could have direct bene-fits as consumers choose the �greenest�stoves, and also could help generate moreenthusiasm and interest in the change-out programs. Also, we are participatingwith HPBA, individual fireplace andwood stove manufacturers, NSPS (NewSource Performance Standards)-accred-ited wood stove testing laboratories, and

others via an ASTM (American Societyfor Testing and Materials) committee todevelop a consensus test method for test-ing fireplace emissions.�

OMNI: What is the purpose of theproposed program specifically for GreenLabel Wood Stoves?

KAREN BLANCHARD: �It�s a lit-tle premature to call this a proposedprogram. It is really a concept we areexploring. The most important reasonfor the program would be to takeanother step in protecting the healthof people who are now breathingunhealthy air. If we can do this in away that provides an incentive for man-ufacturers by energizing the market,that provides an incentive for the con-sumer by providing information aboutthe most efficient and least pollutingstoves available, and this results in lessair pollution in a non-regulatory way,then this will be a success.�

OMNI: How did the EPA get inter-ested in the concept of Green LabelWood Stoves?

GIL WOOD: �Fine particulate is abig health issue, and we were lookingfor good, voluntary programs that couldpossibly help communities get ahead ofthe curve, as they may need additionalfine particulate emission reduction mea-sures to attain the new fine particulateambient air quality standard. We wereespecially looking for ideas that coulduse the power of the marketplace to bothhelp protect public health and potentiallyhelp small businesses.

�The Research Triangle Park area inNorth Carolina suffered a bad ice stormin December of 2002. During the storm,

there were massive power outages anda lot of wood smoke in the air, becausemany people were burning their woodstoves and fireplaces. At the time, therewas non-stop attention given by the mediato the power outages, and there were alot of op-ed pieces about portable gen-erators and people looking for alterna-tive ways of heating their homes, includingwood stoves and fireplaces.

�We wondered if there might be waysto use the power of the media to helpwood stove and fireplace users under-stand the air pollution impacts of howthey operate their wood stoves and fire-places, and how they can make a dif-ference for the environment bypurchasing greener stoves and usingbest practices for burning.

�We took a quick look at some of theavailable fine particulate emission inven-tory data, and wood stoves were high onthe list in several areas. So this effortseemed to be a good candidate for avoluntary program, i.e., it could help

“We believe the Green Label WoodStoves program could have directbenefits as consumers choose the‘greenest’ stoves, and also couldhelp generate more enthusiasm andinterest in the change-out programs.”

— Larry Brockman,Environmental Protection Specialist,

Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards

consumers understand what their actionswere doing in terms of emissions, sothey could make the right choices. Italso would use the power of the mar-ketplace to reduce these emissions and,in this case, help the consumer�s pock-etbook by reducing the amount of cord-wood they would consume by owninga more efficient wood stove.�

OMNI: What do you see as the prosand cons of the program, both for thenation and for the hearth industry?

WOOD: �The huge pro is that theindustry will market higher efficiency,lower emitting appliances. There areestimated to be about 9.6 million woodstoves in the U.S. and, of those, onlyabout one million are NSPS-certified.

Getting people to move to cleaner stoveswill be a great thing for the nation; itwill reduce overall emissions. The bigadvantage for industry will be the poten-tial to sell more stoves.�

Ed. Note: Industry's best estimate is thatthere are 9.6 million wood stoves in placein the U.S., plus 7.1 million woodburn-ing fireplace inserts, for a total of 16.7million woodburning heating appliances.Of these, approximately 2.4 million areNSPS-certified.

OMNI: Do you see it as a voluntaryor mandatory program for wood stovemanufacturers?

WOOD: �Absolutely voluntary! Wesee great value in partnering withindustry to move the marketplace tocleaner technology wood stoves. Wehave had great success with the EnergyStar program, and that may be a good

model for this project. I would like toadd that this has nothing to do with theNSPS certification; this would be acompletely separate, voluntary program.�

OMNI: If the program is developedin consensus with the hearth industry,how do you pragmatically foreseeworking with representatives of thevarious manufacturers and the HPBA?

WOOD: �I foresee that there will belots of telephone conversations andmeetings as resources and time allow.Travel budgets are tight for us rightnow. We are planning on participat-ing in the Anaheim trade show, so wewill be there to participate in a ses-sion; we also will take time to talkwith individual companies.

�I foresee lots of open discussions.It is going to be very important forus to get input from industry, becauseit is not us, but industry, that has theknowledge and capabilities to designand market the green stoves. We havehad good success with other volun-tary wood stove programs, e.g., EPARegion 5 has worked with industry ona very successful change-out program.�

OMNI: How similar might the pro-gram be to the Energy Star programcurrently used with other appliances?

WOOD: �It is still early in the con-ception phase and there are still lotsof things to be determined, but it isa possible option to have a very sim-ilar program. The EPA is very happywith the Energy Star program; itwould be a good model for the GreenLabel Wood Stove program. Indus-try is also very happy with the Energy

Star program; it is good business formanufacturers. There will be a dis-cussion about relative rankings andcriteria set.�

OMNI: If the program were to beput in place, what group within theEPA most likely would administer it?

WOOD: �It is a little too early totell; we are still trying to determinewhat the program will be.�

OMNI: If EPA makes the decisionto implement it, when do you esti-mate it might be in place? I know thisis a difficult question.

WOOD: �It is pretty tough becausewe don�t know what the program will

be. It would be at least two to threeyears to really get the program inplace. There will be lots of advancenotice for the industry to look atdesigning and producing stoves thatwould achieve the Green Label. Per-haps there would be some phasing inof the program.

�One-on-one conversations withmanufacturers have indicated that thereare some very, very good stoves thatare either on the market or that couldcome to the market very soon. Wewant as many of these small-businessmanufacturers to participate in thisprocess as possible.�

OMNI: Has the EPA consideredincluding wood-fired furnaces, wood-fired boilers, masonry heaters and pel-let stoves in the Green Label program?

WOOD: �Right now it seems to makesense to include pellet stoves because


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“I think the bottom line is this.If it does not work for themanufacturers, then it’s notgoing to work for us.”

— Karen Blanchard Program Implementation and Review Group Leader

EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards

they are known to be efficient andproduce low emissions. As for theothers, we have no specific plans toinclude them at this point. We wouldwelcome their manufacturers� inputin this project, but those appliancesare not what we are looking at thistime. We have to focus our limitedresources.�

BLANCHARD: �In the future, afterwe have better defined this program, wemay examine the other appliance types.�

OMNI: What might the criteria be fora Green Label Wood Stove?

WOOD: �Efficiency and emissionswill be the starting point. It will be achallenge to address this to every one�ssatisfaction; at this point we want togather information and explore it.�

OMNI: How would the EPA deter-mine what the target thresholds wouldbe for efficiency and air emissions forthe program?

WOOD: �Using the Energy Star modelfor this project, and as a starting pointfor discussion, the concept might be tolook at the best 10 percent. That wouldencourage the other 90 percent to moveup in performance.�

BLANCHARD: �We could end upwith another percentage. We would beinterested in hearing from our stakeholderson ideas that they have for a criterion.�

WOOD: �The advice from the EnergyStar people is to shoot for a percent-age, like 10 percent, and that wouldencourage the marketplace to move tothe best stoves.�

BLANCHARD: �If it ends up vali-dating the status quo, I�m not sure thatwe will have advanced the goal of acleaner environment.�

WOOD: �I think the green labelingmay increase the enthusiasm about achange-out program, which is anothereffort we have underway.�

OMNI: As you know, there is con-cern about efficiency in that there havebeen a number of ways to measure andreport it, but none of them has been con-sidered �the� way to measure efficiency.Also it has been argued that none of

them, including the Canadian MethodB415.1-00, produce efficiency values thatare representative of real-world, in-homeefficiencies. What are your thoughts onthese concerns?

WOOD: �Yes, we are aware of the sit-uation and we want to talk about it fur-ther. The information that is coming tous seems that the Canadian method is agood starting point for those discussions.There seems to be agreement among testlabs and some of the manufacturers thatit is a good starting point. It is not nec-essarily what real life would be, but weneed to talk about it further.

�It is definitely an improvement onthe default, which is no efficiency test-ing at all. And as far as real world vs.laboratory, if we could get good consis-tency then the relative rankings shouldbe valid even if the absolute values arenot correct.

�Let me give you a couple of exam-ples that are familiar to most of us: auto-mobiles and refrigerators. When EPAfirst established automobile gasolinemileage ratings, there were many tech-

nical concerns about a lab dynamome-ter test under very precise driving con-ditions not being representative of thereal world and the many varying waysthat individuals drive, i.e., differentspeeds, jack rabbit starts, riding with afoot on the brake pedal, etc. Now almosteveryone accepts that, for a given dri-ver, the numbers provide credible rank-ings among vehicles even though theindividual driver may or may not getthe absolute EPA mileage.

�Similarly, although Energy Star effi-ciency ratings strive to be as represen-tative of the real world as possible, anddo provide credible relative rankings,

they do not take into account the home-owner who opens his refrigerator 100times a day and leaves it open whilehe does other things. Nevertheless, fora given consumer�s practices, the rela-tive rankings are credible.

�This is probably a good time forme to also mention that the VoluntaryWood Stove/Fireplace Smoke Reduc-tion Initiative includes a substantialeffort toward consumer education regard-ing operating practices that affect emis-sions and efficiency. We hope this willhelp all users to be aware of their prac-tices and that there will be smoke reduc-tions due to improved burning practices.

�We want to make sure we have acredible test method that people willbelieve and trust, and that will give theconsumer the right information so heor she can make the right choice fortheir situation. Discussions are open;maybe we would have different rank-ings for hardwoods and softwoods.�

OMNI: Similarly, it is generallybelieved among engineers and scien-tists who have worked with wood stoves

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“It is definitely animprovement onthe default, whichis no efficiencytesting at all.”

— Gil Wood Environmental Engineer

EPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards

that the particulate emission rates pro-duced by the test methods 5G, 5H and28 in support of the New Source Per-formance Standards (NSPS) are not rep-resentative of emission rates of woodstoves in real-world usage in homes. Howmight this issue be addressed?

WOOD: �That is not a part of thiseffort; this is a voluntary project nota regulatory project, so we are notgetting involved in changing the NSPSmethods.�

MIKE TONEY: �It is too early totell if we would use the NSPS certi-fication values for ranking. There maybe additional variables taken intoaccount, but at this point those valuesare all we have for a starting point.�

OMNI: Wood stove usage in homesis very variable. There are differentchimney heights and chimney config-urations, homes are located at differentelevations and in areas with differentheating demands, different tree speciesare used for fuel, cordwood is seasoneddifferently from home to home andhomeowner burning practices are sim-ply a matter of preference. All thesevariables affect efficiency and air emis-sions. Is this inherent variability impor-tant and, if so, how might it be takeninto consideration?

WOOD: �These are all factors to con-sider when designing this potential pro-gram; it is part of the challenge thatwe design a program that appropriatelyconsiders these factors. The preliminaryfeedback I am getting from industry isthat good standardized test methods canat least give us an initial ranking thatgets us toward the right answer. Wewant to discuss this further with thelabs and manufacturers.�

BLANCHARD: �I want to empha-size that we are still early in the con-cept development phase.�

Upon completion of our interview withthe EPA staff, we turned our attentionto the hearth industry. We talked withJohn Crouch, a spokesman for the HPBA.

OMNI: HPBA has been interactingwith the U.S. EPA on their proposedprogram for Green Label Wood Stoves.Could you discuss what the HPBA hasdone so far and your understanding ofthe purpose of the program?

CROUCH: �We became aware of thisproposed project at a meeting in August,which we had called to talk about theASTM fireplace project. Our responsehas been consistent. First, that the EPAshould talk to all of our manufacturers.We think they are getting ready to do

that. We hope they will be able to cometo the show as they intend, and speakmore directly with a wide variety ofmanufacturers. That way they will havea good cross-section of input.

�We have participated in a few oftheir conference calls and our under-standing is that the project is still beingthought through. I do understand thatthere is an interest in generating someadditional excitement in the media andthe general public around EPA-certi-fied stoves by attempting to delineatesome that are better then others.�

OMNI: What might be the pros andcons of the proposed program for thehearth industry?

CROUCH: �I think the pro for theindustry is that the EPA is finally pay-ing attention to their own NSPS in away that they have not really been ableto do in over 10 years in the contextof helping get the word out to con-sumers. I recognize that has a lot to dowith the resources that the agency hashad to devote to the MACT (MaximumAchievable Control Technology) stan-dards, which is coming to a close now,leaving more resources for people towork on other things.

�The pro aspect is that the agencyand the industry are having this dis-cussion about how to accelerate thechange-out program, if a program likethis (Green Label) should be a part ofthat effort, and could this program evenbe created. It is too bad we did nothave this conversation 15 years ago,but let�s have it now.

�The con is that the hearth industrycould spend a fair amount of resourcesand then encourage consumers to paymore for stoves that might not be thatmuch different than the stoves beingbuilt today. Also that the industry andthe EPA could get so caught up in thecreation of this program that we woulduse resources that really need to befocused on change-outs.

�All of this for a program that Idoubt will change wood stoves verymuch. There may be some t inyincreases in efficiency that could beharvested here and there, but theincreases might be so modest as toalmost be an embarrassment to theagency. I don�t have data to confirmthis, but that�s my gut feeling.�

OMNI: Do you think it might increaseor decrease the sales of wood stoves?

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CROUCH: �I think it would have avery modest impact on the sale of woodstoves. I don�t think, in and of itself,it is a message that will move thechange-out issue. After all, certifiedstoves already use 25-33 percent lesswood then existing wood stoves, andthat fact has not gotten every one tochange the old stoves out.

�It is going to take a lot of differ-ent approaches to get what we all seek,which is change-out. Again, that is oneof my concerns, that we will spend alot of energy on a program that couldhave disappointing impacts in relationto the amount of energy spent on it.�

OMNI: Do you think it might add sig-nificantly to the development cost of newwood stove models?

CROUCH: �It might. I don�t think weknow because we don�t know what thegoal would be. If the EPA were suc-cessful in coming up with somethingblindingly simple, then it might not addcost, but that takes a lot of understand-ing of how we develop and build woodstoves. It is always hard to make thesethings simple.�

OMNI: Do you think it might add sig-nificantly to the consumer�s cost for awood stove?

CROUCH: �Perhaps not for a woodstove, but it might for the cost of theirchimney. The wood stove is only partof the system. It is certainly possible,under this type of program, that a higherefficiency wood stove, perhaps only afew percentage points higher, would beeven less forgiving of existing chimneysthan EPA-certified wood stoves currentlyare. When a stove is less tolerant of a

chimney in a home, it does not work asdesigned, so the installation of a new,lined chimney is one way consumers�costs could increase.�

OMNI: If the program were to be putin place, would it be appropriate (or fea-sible) for the HPBA to lobby state andlocal tax authorities to provide a tax creditassociated with the purchase of a GreenLabel Wood Stove?

CROUCH: Sure, it would be appro-priate, but would it be feasible? Thereare lots of states right now with deficits,so it may not be feasible. If the EPAthought it was appropriate to lobby thestates, we would certainly join them. Butthe lead would have to come from theEPA. Again, we could do this thing, and

stoves could become a little bit moreefficient, but it might not make any dif-ference in the change-out of stoves.�

OMNI: There are a number of tech-nical issues regarding how to realisti-cally measure efficiency, how torealistically measure air emissions ofparticles, and how to take the variabil-ity in wood stove usage among homesinto consideration. Has the HPBA eval-uated these issues and will it make rec-ommendations to the EPA?

CROUCH: �That�s an understatement!A good example of the technical diffi-culties is that, when the EPA focused onefficiency at the close of the NSPSprocess, they were unable to come upwith a simple, workable method. Theissue of variability in home use is thecrux of the problem; there are too manyvariables in the net delivered efficiencycaused by the combination of wood

stove/chimney/operational variables tomake a simple efficiency value measuredin the laboratory meaningful. The oper-ational variables, including all the fuelissues, are at least as great as those ofthe stove and chimney, and the opera-tional variables will swamp any differ-ences in efficiency from stove to stoveas measured in the laboratory.

�When we produce an emissionsvalue, as mandated by the EPA, theconsumer has to take us at our word.They have no way of knowing whatthe real world emissions are or howtheir emissions would compare with aneighbor�s. But when it comes to effi-ciency, the consumer thinks they cantell a difference between stoves, basedon how much wood they use. Nowwhether they can really tell is very

problematic, but they think they cantell the difference.

�What they will see is how muchwood they use, which is a very crudeand gross way to measure what is goingon. This kind of a focus, a Green Labelprogram, when applied to wood stoveswill give consumers the idea that theonly variable in determining efficiencyis the stove. They already have enoughproblems with that type of simplisticassumption, and such a program willreinforce their inaccurate assumptionsabout stoves.

�The worst-case scenario I see com-ing out of all this is that the industry willspend a good deal of money and, withthe promotion of Green Label stoves bythe EPA, two consumers side by sidewill each buy a new wood stove, one aGreen Label stove and the other not.

�First of all, the actual difference inefficiency in the laboratory is probablyrather modest, but consumers are going


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“The issue of variability in home useis the crux of the problem; there aretoo many variables in the net deliveredefficiency caused by the combinationof wood stove/chimney/operationalvariables to make a simple efficiency valuemeasured in the laboratory meaningful.”

— John CrouchDirector of Public Affairs

Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association

to miss that. The consumers will exposethose two stoves to different conditions,including chimney height, operations vari-ables, fuel type, fuel storage and all thoseother gross variables. But the perceptionof those two families at the end of thefirst year of owning those stoves will bea function of those two woodpiles, whichmay, or may not, meet the expecta-tions created by the Green Label.

�That will be a burden the programwill have to carry � either positive ornegative. Let�s hope positive, for boththe EPA�s reputation and the industry�sreputation. But if it is negative, thiscould set back the change-out of oldstoves, and that would be truly tragic.�

OMNI: Has the HPBA formally or infor-mally polled their membership to obtainthe consensus opinion among wood stovemanufacturers, distributors and retailerson a Green Label Wood Stove program?If so, do the people who make a livingfrom wood stoves think it is a good idea?

CROUCH: �No, it is just too early topoll our members. I don�t think it isappropriate to poll our membership untilthey have heard directly from the EPA.

I think our staff�s inclination is that thisis going to be a long, hard road to pro-duce something worth the amount ofeffort involved.�

OMNI: I know this is a difficult ques-tion, but what do you see as the bestpath forward for the hearth industryon this issue?


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CROUCH: �I think the next step is forthe EPA to make this case directly tothe manufacturers. At that point themanufacturers will tell the HPBA whatthey want us to do. And the EPA willdecide how to respond to that.�

OMNI: I have a question that the EPAstaff specifically suggested I ask indus-try. What would make a wood stoveGreen Label attractive to industry?

CROUCH: �I suspect it might beattractive if it were a simple program,both to create the label and to com-municate it to the public. There alsoneeds to be good solid data to showthat the label is truly predictive of realworld performance across a wide vari-ety of households.�

It is clear from these interviewsthat the EPA staff is more optimisticregarding the outcome of a possibleGreen Label Wood Stove program thanis the spokesman for the HPBA. It isalso clear that the HPBA and manu-facturers of wood stoves need to famil-iarize the EPA staff with some of thesubtleties associated with the woodstove industry and the real-world useof wood stoves, which may tend totemper some of the optimism.

On the other hand, it appears fromour prespective that a possible GreenLabel Wood Stove program offers con-siderable opportunities for the hearthindustry, and these opportunities shouldbe evaluated with an open mind.

It�s encouraging to note that, whenwe asked the same �wrap-up� ques-tion to both the EPA staff and theHPBA spokesman, their responses werevery similar concerning the desiredoutcome from this potential program� the change-out of all uncertifiedwood stoves in America.

OMNI: Sometime in the future, sayfive years, what would you like theGreen Label Wood Stove Project tohave accomplished; describe how youwould like it to be functioning?

CROUCH: �If there is a Green Labelfor wood stoves in the future, I willknow that EPA did the hard work ofdefining a process that was so ele-gant, so simple, and yet so predictiveof real world performance that it con-vinced a lot of very skeptical people,and that the creation of this programdidn�t distract us from keeping our

eyes on our mutual goal, which is tochange-out all the old stoves in NorthAmerica.�

WOOD: �These �In five years Iwould like to see the program accom-plish adding extra enthusiasm to chang-ing-out old wood stoves to cleanerwood stoves that are the best, high-est efficiency appliances available. Iwould like to see a response fromindustry and homeowners to make that

happen and, if we make a dent in thenine million dirty, old wood stovesout there, then we will have a reduc-tion in emissions and improve the pub-lic health. And we will have givengreat opportunities to a lot of smallbusinesses to use the marketplace tosell more wood stoves. Sounds like awin-win to me.�

BLANCHARD: �I don�t know ifwe can expect this in five years, but

MARCH 2004 HEARTH & HOME 59

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my hope is that, if we get rid of theold clunker wood stoves, and getenough really good wood stoves onthe market and into people�s homes,we won�t need additional regulationover the coming years. More impor-tantly, the air quality will improve,not only from the reduction of woodstove smoke, but from other sourcesas well, so that all Americans canbreathe healthy air.�

When all is said and done, whatshould the hearth industry be doingregarding EPA�s concept of a woodstove Green Label program? OMNIcan offer a few suggestions based onthe many hundreds of years of com-bined wood stove experience sharedby its staff.

The hearth industry should conductmarketing research to see how muchdifference a green labeled wood stovewill make to consumers. Will it reallymake a difference in sales?

Manufacturers of wood stovesshould start positioning themselves tooffer green products. This wouldinclude testing the efficiency of woodstove models with such standardizedmethods as B415.1-00. There currentlyare no certification requirements forefficiency with their concomitantcostly paperwork and redundancy, sothe testing is not cost prohibitive.

The manufacturers of masonryheaters and wood-fired furnaces andboilers need to provide EPA with dataand information. It would be impor-tant for those involved with theseappliances to have them included inthe Green Label program.

Finally, and importantly, the hearthindustry has a real opportunity to influ-ence its own future. Every manufac-turer, distributor and dealer of woodstoves should contact one or more ofthe EPA personnel mentioned hereand share their knowledge and con-cerns.


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A Discussion With EPA Representatives Regarding a Potential Green Label Wood Stove Program

Wednesday, 8-9:30am • March 17, 2004Manufacturers Plenary Caucus, Convention Room 304B

HPBA EXPO • Anaheim, California

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MARCH 2004 HEARTH & HOME 61

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EPA Contactsfor More Information

Karen BlanchardProgram Implementationand Review Group LeaderOffice of Air Quality Planningand StandardsPhone: (919) [email protected]

Larry BrockmanEnvironmental Protection SpecialistOffice of Air Quality Planningand StandardsPhone: (919) [email protected]

Gil WoodEnvironmental EngineerOffice of Air Quality Planningand StandardsPhone: (919) [email protected]

Mike ToneyEnvironmental EngineerEmission Measurement CenterPhone: (919) [email protected]

The mailing address for Karen Blanchard,Larry Brockman and Gil Wood is:

Mail Code E-143-02Program Implementation andReview GroupInformation Transfer and ProgramIntegration DivisionOffice of Air Quality Planning andStandardsUnited States Environmental Protec-tion Agency4930 Old Page RoadDurham, NC 27709

The mailing addressfor Mike Toney is:

Mail Code D-205-02Emission Measurement CenterEmission Monitoring and AnalysisDivisionOffice of Air Quality Planning andStndardsUnited States Environmental ProtectionAgency4930 Old Page RoadDurham, NC 27709

About the authors -Dr. James E. Houck is a Research Scientist with OMNI ConsultingServices and has over 20 years experience with air quality,energy and biomass combustion issues. David R. Broderick is anEnvironmental Engineer with OMNI Environmental Services withover 10 years experience with air emission and efficiency mea-surements. Both authors can be reached at (503) 643-3788 or viae-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]..

a green label for wood stoves? - rumford fireplacesthey operate their wood stoves and fire-places,...

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