Choosing an Appliance

If you choose wood heating as your heat source, choose a stove that is approved by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA environmental performance standard B.415.1-04) or by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They are built according to performance standards that aim at limiting harmful emissions in newer stoves.

The benefit of the EPA wood stove for emission reduction is substantial. In a control environment such as in a reseach laboratory, emissions from an EPA wood stove are reduced by 94 % for particulate matter; 80 % for volatile organic compounds; and, 85 % for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. When using an EPA wood stove at home it is estimated that emissions are still reduced but in a lesser degree. All in all, you need to remember that even EPA certified appliances still emit smoke, including a variety of pollutants such as dioxins and furans, which still affect local air quality. Therefore, best practices are always to way to go.

Whatever wood stove you have, make sure it is installed according to all applicable codes or regulations. Wood stoves must be properly installed to be safe and efficient. See to it that a certified professional installs your stove.

Choose the smallest stove that meets your heating needs. This way the stove can operate optimally, burn the wood more efficiently and produce less pollution.

Avoid open fireplaces. They are very inefficient when it comes to heating your home. Not only do they take warm air from your home, discharge it outside and bring the cold outside air in, they transfer heat through the outside wall they're built against and they pollute with their products of incomplete combustion.

Insulate your home properly in order to decrease your need for heat and avoid heat loss. Install well-sealed, insulated doors and windows.

Here are two examples of EPA approved stoves.

1. The advanced combustion system: The advanced combustion system creates the conditions necessary to burn the smoke before it leaves the appliance. These systems were designed to keep temperatures high. They are equipped with an insulated firebox and the primary combustion air is preheated to prevent it from cooling down the fire. Preheated secondary air is fed to the fire through sets of small holes in the gas-burning zone above and behind the fuel bed. Internal baffles force the smoke on a long and hot trajectory so they can burn up completely.



2. The catalytic wood stove: The catalytic wood stove minimizes the amount of incomplete combustion products by using a catalyst to burn the smoke before it leaves the stove. This catalyst is a coated ceramic honeycomb shaped device through which the smoke is routed. The ceramic coating lowers the temperature of the combustion gases as they pass through it, which allows these stoves to burn cleanly at low heat output settings.

You can verify if your stove has received the EPA certification by visiting the following site: www.cabq.gov/airquality/pdf/certifiedwoodstoves.pdf.