The Alliance for Green Heat strives to be a news source that covers the interests of all stakeholders around EPA regulations, and we assembled a list of issues, with the assistance of AI, that we think industry is concerned about. Under the Trump administration, some stakeholders are worried that the EPA may be considering rolling back key wood heater regulations. While there are some extreme voices in the wood heater industry, in our experience the main industry association, the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA, has often tried to temper those extreme voices.
The list of priorities below does not represent HBPA's official positions, nor the positions of AGH or any other entity. It is intended to be a summary of priorities that we have heard from a wide variety of industry sources over recent years. Please leave comments below if you agree or disagree with these priorities.
1. Eliminate or substantially change the 5-year certification expiration. Possibly the clearest specific regulatory ask of industry. | |
2. Influence the new cordwood test method. Make it realistic, reproducible, technology-neutral and not excessively prescriptive. | |
3. Prevent emission limits from being set before the test method is settled. A long-standing HPBA concern. | |
4. Move away from weaknesses of the current g/hr/crib-wood regime. Avoid “designing to the test” and artifacts such as the long-tail effect. | |
5. Preserve flexibility among technologies. Avoid a test or standard that inherently favors catalytic, non-catalytic, pellet, or particular firebox designs. | |
6. Reduce EPA certification bureaucracy/backlog. Faster new certifications and renewals, potentially greater reliance on third-party certification. | |
7. Preserve some form of sell-through/transition protection. Particularly for already-certified appliances when rules change. | |
8. Keep the new rule evolutionary rather than revolutionary. HPBA repeatedly uses the idea of a “scalpel rather than a hatchet” | . |
9. Make testing reflect actual household operation. But industry does not simply endorse the states' Integrated Duty Cycle (IDC) methodology as-is. | |
10. Keep certification/testing costs manageable. Particularly important for smaller manufacturers and less popular models. |
