Focus on Energy: Woodstoves Clean Up Their Act

Woodstoves Clean Up Their by Alex Wilson The wood heating industry is undergoing dramatic changes right now. Lower oil prices have led to lower consumer interest in wood heat, which has hurt the industry. A lot of wood heat companies have dropped out of the picture. But there is another factor that will alter the picture even more. It will force more companies out and it will permanently transform the product itself. What the industry faces now are new Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emission standards, modeled on laws already in place in Oregon and Colorado. The standards will be enforced in two stages. The first, to be implemented July 1, 1988, limits emissions from wood stoves to 9 grams per hour (g/hr)