DOE should focus resources on R&D to advance automated stove technologies

 The Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) released a Request for Information (RFI) seeking feedback on defining the goals and objectives for a planned effort to collect in-situ wood heater performance data in the field. The deadline to submit comments was September 30, 2024. John Ackerly, AGH President, submitted the following comment: 

There are a number of small portable
emission testing devices for wood stoves
that can be used in situ, or larger lab
equipment can be moved to a home.

"We believe BETO should minimize its role in funding in-situ testing efforts because in-situ testing is usually very complex and expensive, given BETO’s funding for residential wood heater technology development. There are many distinct objectives and reasons to do in-site testing, and stakeholders could eloquently make the case for any number of them. But given the size of BETO’s budget, we do not feel there is a compelling enough type of in-situ testing that is likely to be undertaken.

BETO’s mandate is to “support the development of cleaner burning, higher efficiency residential wood heaters” and it seems this has been interpreted more broadly over time, which is understandable to some point, given the dearth of high quality applications to develop next generation stove technology.

We would urge BETO to only fund in-site testing to the extent it directly focuses on modern, more automated stove technology. For example, it may be worthwhile doing some in-situ testing with an automated stove side by side with a traditional manually operated one, to provide data about how beneficial automation can be, if at all.

The list of questions in the Four Categories suggest that this RFI is wide-ranging without parameters related to development of cleaner burning, high efficiency residential heaters. In the United States, stoves must be tested for PM 2.5 to be certified for sale. Efficiency, as measured by B415, is not regulated, but tested and an existing IRS tax credit gives an incentive to hit 75% efficiency, HHV. Any new generation of more modern, cleaner and efficient wood stoves will need to focus on these metrics first.

To understand the potential of modern, automated stoves, it may be just as relevant to study pellet stoves, to understand how and why they have such a predictable emissions profile, compared to cordwood stoves. It is also relatively easy to test how clean and efficient pellet stoves are in-situ after 1 to 10 years in operation.

To achieve testing goals of how pellet stoves perform after 1 – 10 years of use, I would recommend simply using a Testo 380 and principally test for PM2.5, enabling more sampling of more devices.

There are a multitude of academic inquiries into residential wood smoke but BETO should first determine what avenues there are to more directly advance an R&D agenda, which could include emissions data showing how automation can reduce emissions. Cordwood furnaces have already made the transition from being manually operated to controlled by sensors, and the evidence is clear that sensors will keep a boiler or furnace far cleaner.

Some stakeholders who are heavily invested in manually operated stoves may want BETO to undertake in-situ testing studies, which can be endless. But one test of this RFI will be whether those stakeholders who are doing R&D on modern, more automated stoves need in situ testing data, and if so, what kind. Similarly, it may be instructive to see what kind of in-situ testing is recommended by stakeholders who regulate wood stoves, or are involved in health related studies.

BETO could consider doing an RFI on how to develop the next generation of wood stoves in the United States. R&D is perhaps the most important avenue but DOE funding in the solar, wind and geothermal sectors address scores of barriers to bringing a renewable technology to scale. Those barriers can also be addressed in the eco-system surrounding the wood heater community. Obviously, the wood heater sector will never have that level of resources, requiring a careful assessment of where scarce resources can best be used.

An RFI that engages this community on how to advance automated stove technology may help better understand why major manufacturers are hesitant or whether there are other initiatives that could be undertaken. In-situ testing may be one of them, but an RFI solely on in-site testing sends a confusing message to the wood heating community unless BETO better explains how it is part of a strategy to develop modern, more automated stove technology.

New York and Canadian companies win technology challenge to automate the wood Stove

Jonathan Male, director of the DOE's Bioenergy
Technology Office, announces the winners.
Photo: Sam Kittner for Brookhaven National Lab.

(Washington, D.C.) – Two companies with years of experience in electronics and stove design won coveted first and second prizes in the 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge, held in Washington DC from November 9 – 13. 

Manually operated wood stoves are extremely common throughout the northern US, Canada and Europe but no one has yet popularized a solution to prevent them from emitting excessive smoke in the hands of operators.

Wittus, a company based in Pound Ridge New York, teamed up with German engineers and won first prize for both the automated and thermoelectric categories with a living room unit that also heated water for space heating

The Wittus team who won first place in both
the automated and thermoelectric categories.
Photo: Kittner for BNL.

and generated an average of 161 watts and a maximum of 268 watts over the 2.5-hour test period. Total power output over the test period, net of parasitic losses, e.g., pumps and fans, was 276 watt-hours of electricity. The use of thermocouple sensors and fans facilitated clean and efficient combustion.

Stove testers from Brookhaven National Lab and
New York Department of Health.
Photo: Kittner for BNL.

Second prize went to Stove Builders International (SBI) a Quebec based company that designed a simple, affordable stove that allowed the operator to select high or low heat output and used a low-cost control board and thermocouple sensors to ensure that the stove burned cleanly.

Second prize in the thermoelectric category went to California based Vulcan Energy, who

SBI, a prominent Canadian stove manufacturer
spent years developing automated features.
Photo: Kittner for BNL.

developed a thermoelectric generator for the gravity fed Wiseway pellet stove that generated an average of 123 watts, and a maximum of 139 watts, during the 2.5-hour test period. Total power output over the test period, net of parasitic losses, was 235 watt-hours.

The People’s Choice award, based on votes from the general public, went to 509 Fabrications, for their unique gravity fed pressed log stove.

Key partners in the Challenge included Olympia
Chimney, and CSIA, and NFI installers from
Winstons Chimney and  Sugarloaf Chimney.
Photo Kittner for Brookhaven National Lab.

The goal of the Woodstove Design Challenge is to demonstrate how improved designs including sensors and computer controls can make wood stoves cleaner and more efficient. The technology boom of the past few decades has largely missed the wood stove industry, yet innovation still holds great promise. 

Researchers including Brookhaven National Lab, with support from the New York State

Fred Leavitt won 2d prize in thermoelectric
with Jonathan Male, DOE, Ramesh Koripella,
Sandia National Lab and John Ackerly, AGH.
Photo: Kittner for BNL

Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), have been developing new methods for the next generation of assessment protocols for wood heating appliances. Currently, most stoves in America are tested for EPA certification with standardized fuel pieces and spacing. Research has focused on in-home use operational practices, user fueling patterns, and new real-time measurement method techniques with random loading patterns and variability in piece size to better replicate real-life conditions.   

Automated stoves that are designed and tested with this new robust cordwood test method can help improve woodstove designs and in-use performance leading to higher efficiency and lower emissions.

Les Otten of Maine Energy Systems with Julie
Tucker of the USDA Forest Service.
Photo: Kittner for Brookhaven National Lab.

A team from Stony Brook University also competed in the event with a prototype that featured a unique wood drying and preheating chamber. The stove did not win a prize but offered students a rich opportunity to engage with national stove design and testing experts. A full list of the competing teams can be found here. 

Partners for the Design Challenge include NYSERDA, the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technology Office, the U.S. Forest Service, the Osprey Foundation and Olympia Chimney. The automated stoves were tested by Brookhaven National Lab. A complete list of partners and sponsors can be found here.

Results of the 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge

 By John Ackerly

The first day of testing, showing Ben Myren Prof.
Phil Hopke and Rebecca Trojanowski.
Photo: Kittner/BNL.

Conducting rigorous and transparent field testing of thirteen stoves in five days is a feat that is unheard of in the wood stove community.  The goals were also unique: fairly test stoves against one another with cordwood; help each team to improve their units and help educate a wider public about novel stove technologies that challenge how we think about the traditional, manually operated EPA certified wood stove.

The 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge took place from Nov. 9 - 13, featuring 10 stoves in competition and 3 showcase stoves. The stoves were selected and judged by members of the

Large screen monitors provided real time data during
a test run of the Integrated Duty Cycle fueling
protocol under development. Photo: Kittner/BNL

Organizing Committee.  The Alliance for Green Heat (AGH) was the principal architect, organizer and host of the event.  Each of the 10 competition stoves received a $10,000 grant made possible by the DOE's Bioenergy Technology Office.

The Wittus team from New York
and Germany. Photo: Kittner/BNL

In the automation stove category, there were three market ready stoves that successfully went through a rigorous fueling protocol and proved that they could burn relatively cleanly and efficiently even when an operator tried to turn down the heat setting too far and at the wrong times.  An SBI stove and the VcV stove that had been in development for many years showed the value of multi-year R&D and testing, resulting in stoves that may only cost $500 more than a similar,

Staffers from EPA, DOE, USDA and Congressional
offices were able to learn about stove testing and
 engage with teams and judges. Photo: AGH

  

non-automated version.  To us, this is a major breakthrough and stoves like these should show a path to far cleaner cord wood heating in America.  

The SBI team. Photo: Kittner/BNL

The other automated stove was a German-American unit that heated water, made electricity and provided a living room fire experience with a downdraft flame into a lower chamber. While this was not an affordable stove to most Americans, it could have a reasonable pay-back over a number of years, depending on the users cord wood price.  This stove impressed both the Brookhaven National Lab and the Masonry Heater Association testing teams with ultra-low carbon monoxide numbers in the single digits under some conditions, and ultra-high efficiency.  

Ben Myren, one of the top wood stove testing experts
in the US, talking with Larry Brockman of the EPA's
BurnWise program.  Photo: Kittner/BNL

Automated stoves are regarded as one of the best, and only ways to help ensure that manually operated EPA certified stoves perform well not just in the testing lab, but in the homes of consumers.  For automated stoves to start gaining a foothold in the market federal, state and local government recognition and support will be required.

An automated pellet boiler by Maine Energy Systems capped with a Stirling Engine was the most

A Tesla owned by Osprey Foundation head, Bill Clarke,
 being charged by Maine Energy System pellet 
boilers with a Stirling engine. Photo: Kittner/BNL

futuristic of the entries, especially since it was charging a Tesla car in front of the tent. This compact unit could heat a business or multi-family dwelling and provide up to 5 kW of electricity.  

The five testing teams used different equipment
to gather a variety of data. Photo: Kittner/BNL

In the thermoelectric category, the judges concluded that “the most innovative thing is that almost all teams used commercially available thermoelectric modules and showed that it is feasible to generate useful electrical energy without sacrificing the energy efficiency or impeding the heat quality of

This is a Swiss-made electrostatic precipitator for
residential wood stoves that reduced PM by 50 -
90% in our testing.

the wood stove.  Most designs returned the waste heat after electricity generation into useful radiant heat into the room to increase efficiency.  These designs prove that the woodstoves is a good potential commercial opportunity for thermoelectrics to generate useful electrical energy and also increase their commercial appeal for consumers.”

It was clear that stoves or boilers with Thermoelectric Generators (TEG) could produce 100 to 250 watts of power. While this is a relatively modest amount of electricity, larger automated stoves or boilers operating 15 to 20 hours per day may help supplement limited solar power output during winter months. 

Fred Legget of Vulcan Energy 
with a TEG adapted to a Wiseway.
Photo: Kittner/BNL

The George Washington University, Unforgettable Fire and ASAT teams all successfully used off the shelf technology, while TEG expert Fred Leavitt of Vulcan Energy used commercially available TEGs by Hi-Z, and adapted the gravity fed Wiseway pellet stove to get a more steady 130 watt output. 

The Wittus cord wood stove was by far the most market ready and was able to make 250 watts, and it peaked at over 300 when using low moisture pressed wood logs.  Ken Adler, AGH’s Program Director of Thermoelectrics, coordinated the thermoelectric side of the competition and the thermoelectric testing.

University teams have been a key part of the Design
Challenge with SUNY Stony Brook competing this year.

Scoring was done using a numeric rubric based mostly on data produced by the testing equipment but judges did have discretion to award some points based on their subjective assessment in several areas.  Judges assessed automated stoves by these criteria and thermoelectric stoves by these.

And the awards goes to …

The Wittus team won both first prizes.
Photo: Kittner/BNL

·     * First Prize for automated stoves: Wittus.  Great performance on particulate matter, CO, efficiency and safety.

·     Second prize for automated stoves: SBI. A fully automated non-catalytic stove using only 2 sensors that may only cost $500 more than if it were non-automated.

·     * First prize for thermoelectric stoves: Wittus - again;  The highest electric output of up to 250 watts, and an integrated design that can maintain stable electric output.

·     * Second prize for thermoelectric: Vulcan Energy, using the Wiseway pellet stove that produced more than 100 watts and good PM reduction.

Stove testers Tom Butcher, Jake Lindbeg, Rebecca 
Trojanowski Photo: Kittner/BNL

·     Innovation prize: SBI, for simplicity.  The use of only one thermocouple and a sensor on the door, enabled the designers to regulate the stove despite attempts by the testers to turn the heat demand down and make it perform poorly. 

·     * The People’s Choice Award: 509 Fabrications.  Despite being a new, small company without an extensive social media network, the 509 Fabrications pressed log stove was a consumer favorite, garnering more votes than any other stove. 

The MHA testing crew: Ron Pihl, Jim 
Schales, Norbert Senf, Mark Seymour 
and Boris Kukojl. Photo: MHA

Unique and rigorous testing

The 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge pushed the limits of rigorous wood stove testing both in terms of the amount and variety of technology used, and the fueling protocol, which is far more rigorous than any standard fueling protocol.   More details about this will be forthcoming.  Data produced by this event will show the extent to which automated stoves can navigate fueling protocols where testers try to make stoves go into smolder mode, to see if the automation is robust enough to avoid that.  Data is also more valuable for understanding real world venting conditions, as EPA approved test labs terminate in a warm indoor space, not the colder outdoors.  

Real time emission displays allowed testers teams
and judges to learn more about performance patterns.
This shows exceptional  CO and stack temps on the
Wittus. Photo: Senf

Between Brookhaven National Lab and the Masonry Heater Association, we had up to 5 separate testing teams, allowing many stoves to be tested at once.  We

Jonathan Male, head of DOE's Bioenergy
Technologies Office introducing the awards
Photo: Kittner/BNL

also wanted to have ensure that the Brookhaven and MHA teams could  periodically test the same stove at the same time.  Norbert Senf of the MHA had worked for months to automate the Condar, and the new Condar controls worked very  well, with minimal glitches. They did three runs simultaneously with Brookhaven National Laboratory who used a diluter and Testo 380. Comparisons of the two approaches will be published at some point.

Air quality testing during the Design Challenge

During the Challenge, we monitored indoor and outdoor air quality to get some sense of the impact

Tinted stove pipe donated by Olympia Chimney, 
showing mostly invisible smoke during the event
Photo: Kittner/BNL

from 9 – 13 wood and pellet stoves operating under one roof.  We used a Thermo Scientific pDR-1500 Aerosol Monitor, an Speck indoor PM monitor and a Purple Air PA-II - SD monitor.  Results were mixed, with most indoor readings between 20 - 35 micrograms per cubic meter, but with far higher spikes. The EPA short term PM standard is 35 micrograms per cubic meter.  Outdoor numbers were usually around

Les Otten, right, with Maine Energy Systems
Okofen Pelletmatic E-max CHP unit. Photo: MYSys

10 micrograms per cubic meter. Often the Speck showed  moderate to elevated inside the tent, but on several occasions, prototype stoves released excessive smoke into the tent – and outside of it.  We will issue a more detailed report on this. 

A note of gratitude

Julie Tucker of the USDA Forest Service, with
DOE's Jonathan Male and  AGH's John Ackerly
Photo: Kittner/BNL

 The Wood Stove Design Challenge is a collaborative process involving three major donors - the Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technology Office, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and Osprey Foundation and scores of in-kind and volunteer partners.  Olympia Chimney and Masonry Heater Association were key in-kind partners, along contributions by West Penn Power

Dusty Henderson with the 509
Fabrications pressed wood log stove
that won the People's Choice Award. 

Sustainable Energy Fund, HPBA, Schott-Robax, Lignetics, Chimney Safety Institute of America, Society for American Foresters, National Fireplace Institute, Catalytic Hearth Coalition, Biolite local sweeps and installers and others were key in enabling the event to occur.  

Unless otherwise noted, photos taken by Sam Kittner and made possible by funding from Brookhaven National Lab and can be used freely by all, with attribution to "Sam Kittner for Brookhaven National Lab."  Photos attributed to AGH can also be used freely and attributed to "Alliance for Green Heat."

The GW University Team. Photo: Kittner/BNL

The innovative rocket stove entry from
ASAT being tested by Ben Myren
Photo: Norbert Senf

Our tent was right between the Capitol and the Washington Monument.
Photo: Kittner/BNL 

Photo: Kittner/BNL

Competition on National Mall to Showcase Innovative Wood Stove, Renewable Energy Technology

MEDIA ADVISORY

November 2, 2018

Contacts: John Ackerly, Alliance for Green Heat, 301-204-9562; Kerry Darragh, The Hatcher Group,

410-990-0284 

Design Challenge inspires cleaner, more affordable wood stoves 

(Washington, D.C.) – The Wood Stove Design Challenge, an international competition to showcase innovative and clean-burning wood stoves, will begin on Friday, November 9 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The goal is to demonstrate how improved designs including sensors and computer controls can make wood stoves cleaner and more efficient. One portion of the competition will focus on how electricity can be produced from wood and pellet stoves and be paired with rooftop solar and other renewable technologies. The event is free and open to the public through Tuesday afternoon, November 13.

WHAT:	Competition among 10 teams to demonstrate how modern residential wood stoves can be far cleaner, more efficient and renewable sources of heat and electricity
WHEN:	Friday, November 9 – Tuesday, November 13, 2018
WHERE:	The National Mall, 1160 Jefferson Drive SW, Washington, D.C. (Near the Smithsonian metro stop)
WHO:	The Alliance for Green Heat Officials from the Bioenergy Technology Office, U.S. Department of Energy Officials from the U.S.D.A Forest Service The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Testing by Brookhaven National Lab and Masonry Heater Association.
VISUALS:	Visitors will be able to see how stoves are tested and interact with the teams, and many of the country’s top wood stove experts. Guided tours are offered daily and there will be an education area with exhibits and literature for homeowners and experts alike. One pellet boiler will be charging a Tesla and another stove has a mini electrostatic precipitator.

More than 10 million American households use wood stoves to heat their homes but they are a significant source of ambient particulate matter (PM) emissions. The technology boom of the past few decades has largely missed the wood stove industry yet innovation still holds great promise. Moreover, all stoves in America were tested for EPA certification with 2x4s for fuel. 

The Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) and Brookhaven National Lab, with support from NYSERDA, have been researching new methods for the next generation of assessment protocols for wood heating appliances.  Research has focused on in-home use to operational practices, user fueling patterns, and new real-time measurement method techniques.  The results of this work will be showcased on the mall during demonstration  on a wood stove providing real-time results.    

Automated stoves that are designed and tested with this new robust cordwood test method can help improve woodstove designs and in-use performance leading to higher efficiency and lower emissions.

“The Wood Stove Design Challenge is re-imagining America’s most common residential renewable energy device, to be part of our renewable energy future,” said John Ackerly, president of the Alliance for Green Heat and founder of the Design Challenge. “Most homes in the colder half of the US could nearly be all renewable by using pellet or automated wood stoves or boilers along with solar panels, helping to vastly reduce fossil heating fuel.”

Creators of the competition say that just as the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon helped lay a foundation for the solar industry, the Stove Design Challenge is laying the foundation for a cleaner, more modern stove industry.  For this event, the DOE provided essential baseline funding to each of the competing teams.

The competing stoves will feature WIFI connectivity, sensors and micro-processors that eliminate the need to manually adjust air flow and help ensure a much cleaner and efficient combustion. Other competing wood stoves and boilers will generate enough electricity to power everything from a cell phone to part of a home or electric vehicle. One European pellet boiler at the Design Challenge will be charging a Tesla.

Teams from companies and universities will compete in two contests – one to find the best automated stove and the other recognizing the best electricity producing stove. The teams will be scored based on criteria such as particulate matter emissions, automation and innovation, electricity production, safety, delivered heat efficiency and consumer appeal. A full list of the competing teams can be found here. 

Other teams will showcase wood stoves that incorporate thermoelectric technology capable of converting heat into electricity. One goal is to integrate these thermoelectric wood stoves with solar residential systems to increase power output by 50 percent in northern climates like New England, where solar production is limited during winter months.  

Partners for the Design Challenge include the U.S. Department of Energy, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the U.S. Forest Service, the Osprey Foundation and Olympia Chimney. The automated stoves will be tested by teams from the Brookhaven National Lab. The Masonry Heater Association and Myren Labs will test the thermo-electric stoves.  A complete list of partners and sponsors can be found here.

The Alliance for Green Heat promotes modern wood and pellet heating systems as a low-carbon, sustainable and affordable energy solution. The Alliance works to advance cleaner and more efficient residential heating technology, particularly for low and middle-income families. Founded in Maryland in 2009, the Alliance is an independent non-profit organization and is tax-exempt under section 501c3 of the tax code.

#  #  #

West Penn Power Energy Fund to support a design competition that pairs automated, electricity producing wood stoves with solar PV

June 27, 2018- The Alliance for Green Heat received a $5,000 grant from West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund (WPPSEF) to support the 2018  Wood Stove Design Challenge, a competition to automate and make electricity from wood stoves from November 9 - 13.

The grant funds will be used to test and promote stoves that are automated and produce electricity, both of which could be popular in Western Pennsylvania as they become more commercially available in the next few years. Twelve teams are competing and they will be rigorously tested for emissions, efficiency, electricity output and other qualities.,

Automated wood stoves can enable consumers to “load and leave” and get a high efficiency clean burn through sensors that can adjust by the minute and are far more effective than a human operator. Electricity producing stoves can recharge cell phones, power light bulbs in the event of a short or longer power outage caused by storms, grid failure or any other reason.  Within 3 – 5 years, electricity producing wood stoves may also be a more common option in the northern US to complement low wintertime solar PV output. In the future, thermoelectric wood stoves may be able to produce half as much electricity as a residential solar PV installation in December and January in northern states.

Wood is a popular residential heating source in Pennsylvania. According to the latest Census figures, Pennsylvania has the highest number of households heating with wood outside New York and California. Approximately 3% of all homes in the Commonwealth use wood as a primary heating source, but in 16 counties, 10% or more of households use wood or pellets as a primary heat source according to the US Census: Fulton (20%), Sullivan (20%), Juniata  (19%), Forest (16%),  Potter (16%), Tioga (15%), Susquehanna (15%) and Bradford (14%), Bedford, (13%), Huntington (13%), Mifflin (13%), Perry (13%), Crawford (11%),Wayne (11%) and Warren (10%).  More than half a million Pennsylvanians use it as a primary or secondary heat source.  

“Woody biomass is an abundant renewable heat feedstock which has been used by generations to provide low-cost heating for homes across Pennsylvania.  WPPSEF seeks to better understand how modern, innovative wood stoves can affordably help meet energy needs while operating far more cleanly than traditional wood stoves,” says Joel Morrison, Director of the WPPSEF.

The Alliance for Green Heat promotes modern wood and pellet heating systems as a low-carbon, sustainable and affordable energy solution. The Alliance works to advance cleaner and more efficient residential heating technology. The Wood Stove Design Challenge in November 2018 will the fourth Design Challenge hosted by the Alliance for Green Heat. Founded in 2009, the Alliance is an independent non-profit organization and is tax-exempt under section 501c3 of the tax code. 

The West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund (WPPSEF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that invests in the deployment of sustainable energy technologies that benefit West Penn Power ratepayers in Pennsylvania. WPPSEF investments are focused in three broad categories:

✓     Deployment of sustainable and clean energy technologies; 

✓     Deployment of energy efficiency and conservation technologies; and 

✓     Facilitating economic development, environmental betterment, and public education as they relate to sustainable energy deployment in the WPP service region.

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Visit http://www.wppsef.orgfor further information.

Contact John Ackerly, 

Alliance for Green Heat, 301-204-9562
jackerly@forgreenheat.org

Contact Barbara Robuck, 

West Penn Power Sustainable
Energy Fund, 814-865-7380
wppsef@ems.psu.edu