Funding approved for wood heat tours from Maryland to NH & VT

September 7, 2022 

Program Contact: Maura Ross, Wood Energy Coordinator: 304-676-9224

Media Contact: Sabrina Bachman, Maryland Clean Energy Center: 301-314-6066

Alliance for Green Heat Contact: John Ackerly, The Alliance for Green Heat

 

Maryland Advances Biomass Wood Energy Solutions 

$25,000 awarded from the Maryland Agricultural Education & 

Rural Development Assistance Fund grant to conduct in-person, on-site education efforts

 

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –  Maryland continues to search for ways to develop and expand the state’s existing renewable energy portfolio. Thermal wood energy is beginning to gain traction and attention across the state as a sustainable option to traditional heating fuels such as propane and other fossil fuels. Despite the idea of thermal wood energy being widely known, the newer and advanced large-scale systems installed with efficient cleaning controls are typically not thought of when wood energy is mentioned.

To help show what these systems are and how they operate, as well as speak directly to facilities about their experience with a wood energy system, the Alliance for Green Heat and the Maryland Clean Energy Center have partnered together to organize and host educational tours to learn from other states as well as see where Maryland’s wood energy sector currently stands.

Maura Ross, project lead for
wood energy tours in NH & VT

The two tours funded through the Rural Maryland Council grant will take attendees to Vermont and New Hampshire. Attendees will include those who are interested in renewable energy and can make decisions on the future of wood energy in Maryland, such as policymakers, environmental groups, and facility managers who want to make the switch from fossil fuels to renewables as quickly as possible. 

Vermont and New Hampshire are seen as the country’s leaders regarding wood energy – heating not only homes, but schools, commercial facilities, an entire town’s public buildings, and even downtown sidewalks! They began the development of their wood energy sector almost twenty years ago and have continually seen the benefits of reducing their energy dependence on fossil fuels and the increasing health of their forests through sustainable management practices resulting from a strong logging sector.

“Tours to New Hampshire and Vermont will enable Maryland stakeholders to meet experts who run the systems and the building owners who pay for far cheaper heat," said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat.

This education-focused grant will also fund a case study, providing a detailed overview of one of the two tours. It will include information on the locations visited, the systems in place, the benefits of wood energy experienced, and the lessons learned from each facility. The information in the case study will help not only those who were unable to attend the tours but be a vital resource for decision makers and facility owners to reference when considering thermal wood energy.

“There are numerous misconceptions regarding wood energy since it not a common energy source anymore and confusion about the difference between sustainable forest management and overharvesting,” states Maura Ross, the wood energy coordinator at the Maryland Clean Energy Center, “but seeing is believing. If we can get those who are passionate about switching over to renewable energy on these tours where they see the environmental benefits themselves and speak with those who work with energy every day, I believe that the opinion of wood energy in the state will change.”

The tours will be hosted between early December and early April, with the case study released before June 2023.

The Educational Tour project is supported, in partnership, by the Alliance for Green Heat and the Maryland Clean Energy Center and funded by the Rural Maryland Council through the Maryland Agricultural Education and Rural Development Assistance Fund. This effort is also supported by the U.S. Forest Service, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and the Maryland State Wood Energy Team.

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The Maryland Clean Energy Center (MCEC) was created in 2008 to encourage the transformation of the energy economy. MCEC works to implement financing solutions that catalyze the growth of business, create jobs, and make clean energy technologies, products and services affordable and accessible for Maryland consumers.

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.

 

 

Pellet stove performance makes big gains as interest in renewable energy grows

In 2009, the average pellet stove emitted 2 grams of smoke (particulate matter) per hour. No one had any idea which stoves were efficient and which weren’t.  Ten years later, the average pellet stove certified to be sold as of May 2020 emits only 1 gram per hour.  By cutting that number in half, the emissions around homes that heat with these new pellet stoves are barely perceptible.  

Efficiency has also risen, with the average efficiency of pellet stoves now nearly 74%, but some as high as 87%, based on the EPA's certified stove database.  Ten years ago, average efficiencies were under 70%. 

A variety of factors led to these performance improvements but it’s not yet clear if they will lead to an uptick in installations.  Based on interviews with numerous pellet stove retailers, most consumers don’t buy pellet stoves based on increased performance values. 

“We see a lot more customers who want a renewable heat source and are not so concerned whether it’s going to save them money or not,” says James Cusano, a veteran stove retailer at the Stove Barn near Concord New Hampshire.  “Consumers are looking for ease of use – which means big hoppers, minimal maintenance and thermostat controls – and many now want to avoid fossil fuels.”

Cusano says heating preferences in New Hampshire are changing and consumers have more options today than they did 10 or 20 years ago.  Heat pumps are an option, but with cold New England winters, stoves are still prized.  For pellet stoves, consumers “want it to be as close as possible to heating with a modern central system, but with a biomass fuel source, and without the much larger investment required for a pellet-based central heating system.”

Other retailers, such as Richard Thomas, who runs Courtland Hardware in Maryland, say renewable energy is not a big driver.  He says many people buying pellet stoves used to have a wood stove and are looking for the ease of use that pellet stoves offer.  Maryland has a stove incentive program driving consumers toward cleaner and more efficient pellet stoves, rather than basic wood stoves.  Massachusetts and New York have similar programs that require turning in an old wood stove.  These states show that harnessing interest in stoves and moving towards pellet heating can be a key strategy for decarbonizing heating fuel loads. 

The renewable energy movement so far is benefiting heat pumps far more than pellet stoves, though both offer the potential for low carbon space heating. Until there is a lot more renewable electricity on state grids, advocates say pellet heat should be an obvious choice, helping to avoid winter electric peak demands that are more likely to be met with combined cycle gas plants than with renewables.

National pellet stove trends

Pellet stoves are well-known in the wood heating community, but many consumers and renewable energy experts still don’t know exactly what they are and how they differ from wood stoves.  No precise figure exists about the number of pellet stoves in use today, but most experts think it is more than 1 million.

Current sales figures are not public but past figures show large swings between years amidst a long term growth pattern.  Pellet stoves have never outsold wood stoves, but they have come close, selling up to 150,000 units some years.  More recently, pellet stoves may be only a quarter or third of wood stove sales (in the 50,000 per year range). Even at 50,000 units a year, however, pellet stoves are being installed at a scale that merits more attention.

There is evidence that pellet stoves are gaining traction, partly from demand of people who used to heat with wood and partly from first time buyers.  In Vermont, one of the few states that includes pellet stoves in surveys on home heating devices, more than 8% of homes use pellet stoves or boilers as their primary heat and an additional 3.6% use pellets as a secondary heat source.    This is a rapid rise from 2008 when less than 2% of homes used pellets as a primary fuel.

Source: Vermont Residential Fuel Assessment, 2014 - 2015

Maryland does not track pellet stove installations but the state released data showing that 85% of people receiving rebates for an efficient stove chose the pellet stove rebate over the wood stove rebate.  Richard Thomas sells pellet and wood stoves at three locations in Maryland in northeast Maryland and he says that 90% of the stoves he sells are pellet and less than 10% are wood stoves.  

The best pellet stoves consistently emit well under 1 gram of PM per hour, 1/5^th or 1/10^th the emissions of a  wood stove in the hands of the average consumer who may rarely get the results achieved in the test lab.  Like many modern combustion engines – from cars to furnaces – modern pellet stove emissions are almost always invisible and undetectable by the nose, but pellet heaters  still emit more per hour than a car and much more than a modern gas or oil furnace. Bigger PM reductions are still underway with pellet combustion technology and one pellet stove model was recently tested at 0.22 grams an hour, a level that some thought was nearly impossible.  

One stumbling block for pellet stoves is the public perception that they accelerate deforestation.  There are large volumes of sawdust and scrap wood from lumber yards that have been used to make heating pellets in the northeast for decades.  Those volumes can rise or shrink depending on the strength of the housing market and the economy overall.  There was little confusion about the source of fiber for pellets until large corporations started harvesting whole trees from the southern US to ship to Europe to make electricity.  It is now commonplace for people to think that’s how heating pellets are made.  Likewise, many don’t distinguish between small scale heating at 75% efficiency and industrial scale electricity production at 25% efficiency.

The large percentage of pellet stoves sold today is great news for air quality agencies since they operate far cleaner in homes than wood stoves. It’s also great news for the renewable energy community since a pellet stove can run 24/7 and is usually a home’s primary heat source. A pellet stove used as a primary heater in most parts of the US will typically make as much energy as a 5kW residential solar panel installation.

Prices

Accurate price data is not available to track changes between 2009 and 2019.  At the high end, top brands like those from Harman, Quadrafire and Travis sell for $3,000 - $4,250 and installation can add $500 - $750 or more.  At the low end, there is still an abundance of very affordable pellet stoves.  At least seven manufacturers make pellet stoves that sell for $1,000 or less (two of them appear to be on the market illegally and are not EPA certified.) 

A top value stove, the PelPro, has several models that sell for about $1,200 and are among the cleanest and most efficient on the market.  Scott Williamson, a professional pellet stove repair technician from Massachusetts, says with their large hoppers and solid reliability history, it’s hard to find a better pellet stove for anywhere near that price point.  PelPro stoves are sold by big box stores, requiring consumers to find and hire a professional installer and repair technicians on their own, compared to specialty hearth dealers who provide those services and rely on the additional income streams.

The number of certified pellet stove models nearly tripled from 56 in 2009 to 171 in 2020.  Most pellet stove models in 2009 were not yet certified, due to a perceived exemption which was only supposed to apply to stoves that had an excess of 35 parts air to 1 part fuel.

Data shows that cleaner stoves are more efficient stoves

In addition to becoming cleaner and more efficient, there is now a clearer relationship between cleanliness and efficiency.  About half of the sixty-two 2020 certified pellet stoves are below 1 gram an hour, and half are between 1 and 2 grams.  The stoves under 1 gram had an average efficiency of 75.9% and those above 1 gram had an average efficiency of 71.7%: a nearly 10% difference.  This provides an additional motivation for consumers to look more closely at the cleanest stoves, as they also tend to be the ones that will use the least fuel for the same heating output.  

Source: EPA Wood Stove Database (room heaters)

James Cusano of the Stove Barn in New Hampshire also found that “the lower particulate emissions seem to require slightly less of the intensive cleaning that the higher emission models do, and that is critical to the long-term efficiency and reliability of any pellet burning appliance.”

In addition, there is a clear correlation between PM and carbon monoxide (CO).  Stoves emitting less than 1 gram of PM had an average of 0.18 pounds of CO per hour.  Stoves with more than 1 gram of PM per minute emitted an average of 0.29, 38% more.  CO is one indication of good combustion and is expected to correlate with PM.

The road to better performing pellet stoves

The year 2015 marked the biggest turning point for pellet stoves because the EPA required all pellet stoves to be certified and report the results of efficiency tests.  Stove retailer James Cusano says he has seen bigger changes in the bottom of the market than at the top.  Going forward, “the middle and top market models will continue to improve their automations, while the bottom will focus on continuing to try to meet the new minimum expectations at budget price points,” Cusano said.

The EPA decided to set the same PM regulatory levels for wood and pellet stoves, giving pellet stoves a very easy target.  The average pellet stove certified to the 2020 standard of 2 grams an hour emits about 1 gram an hour.  The federal IRS tax credit has also used a single efficiency number for both wood and pellet stoves, which would make far more pellet stove models eligible for a tax credit, if it were to be re-enacted.  Bills in the House and Senate supported by AGH, HPBA and scores of other groups propose a tax credit with a 75% efficiency limit as of 2020 would make most pellet, catalytic and hybrid stoves eligible and most non-cat wood stoves ineligible. However, after this tax credit was passed in December 2019, manufacturers began undermining it by certifiying that stoves even in the low 60s qualified for the tax credit.  HPBA declined to comment on how efficiency should be calculated even though efficiencies have always been averaged, just like automobiles average highway and city miles to get a final number.

Innovation and competition have also played an important role in the trend toward cleaner and more efficient pellet stoves.  A half a dozen models now emit less than a half a gram of PM per hour and a dozen are over 80% efficient.  

The US Energy Information Agency releases annual forecasts of heating fuels each fall but do not separate pellet from wood heating.  This year they predict a slight national decline in primary wood heating to a little less than 2% of US households (about 2 million homes), down from 2.2% about 5 years ago.  However, about 8% of American homes use wood or pellets as a secondary heat source, according to the EIA’s recent Winter Fuel Outlook.

Per capita use of wood and pellets as a primary residential heating fuel.  Two states – Vermont and Maine – are in the 10% - 25% category, sharply reducing fossil heating fuel demand in that region.  Source: EIA 2019 Winter Fuel Outlook

Continued improvements in pellet stove performance will help the technology serve a core population of people who currently heat with expensive oil, propane or electric resistance heaters, as well as those looking for renewable options.  And, it may not be long before pellet stoves are designed and tested at or below 0.1 gram an hour, a technological milestone that could coincide with state and national policies aimed at increasing renewable heating goals.

Maryland program helps residents install cleanest stoves on the market

Garry Aime manages the
stove rebate program. 

A Maryland renewable energy rebate program established in 2012 has provided assistance to nearly 3,000 to purchase and install cleaner, modern wood and pellet stoves.  The program was designed to help rural families, who were least likely to benefit from solar and other renewable energy programs.

The state has invested $1.88 million dollars, or an average of $664 per home.  The average purchase and installation costs of a stove is often around $3,800, so the state would be providing less than 20% of the price tag for a significant reduction in a home's annual fossil fuel footprint.

The Maryland Energy Administration, who manages a suite of renewable energy incentives, runs the program.  With this program, the MEA cannot exactly track the amount of fossil fuel that the program has reduced, which hinders the ability of regulators to track data as they can with the solar and other rebate programs.

Of the 2,845 stoves purchased through the program, 2,425 or 85% were pellet stoves.  To be eligible, pellet stoves have to emit 2 grams an hour or less, and wood stoves 3 grams an hour or less, well below the federal EPA limit of 4.5 grams an hour.  Pellet stoves are eligible for a $700 grant and wood stoves $500.  (As of Sept. 1, 2022 eligible stoves must be 75% efficient or higher.)

Rebate data provided by MEA

“We are pleased that this program steers so many people towards pellet stoves and ensures that the installation is done professionally,” said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat, a Maryland based group that worked with MEA to establish the program. 

Only residents who do not have access to natural gas are eligible for the grant, which as a result helps families in rural areas who rely on more expensive fossil heating fuels.  New York also adopted this innovative approach, and only provides incentives to homes that are not on the natural gas grid.  A 2013 analysis of the program by the Alliance for Green Heat found that it was helping less affluent families to reduce fossil fuel use.

The program does not require residents to turn in an old, uncertified wood stove to participate in the program.  However, some retailers report that nearly half of their customers who use this program turn in an old stove that is recycled. 

During 2015, the program experienced its highest participation rates, providing grants for 1,036 stoves, 904 of which were pellet stoves. 

“A $3,000 pellet stove installation can reduce fossil fuel usage by as much as a $15,000 array of solar panels,” said Ackerly.  “And increasingly, we see families who have solar panels also installing pellet stoves so that they can use renewable energy for both their electric and heating needs,” he added.

Related stories

Is a permit required to install a wood stove in Maryland? (Jan. 2019)

States strive to update outdoor wood boiler regulations to conform to new federal rules

The EPA’s new wood heater regulations has left more than 10 states with outdoor boiler regulations that now need updating. Most state regulations refer to Phase 1 and Phase 2 boilers, a voluntary program that has now been superseded by certified boilers in new EPA regulations.  

Currently, at least New Hampshire and Maryland are updating regulations and the province of British Columbia already incorporated language for the new EPA certified boilers.

The wording in these regulations is often tricky and several states have created unintentional results in the past, such as Maryland whose regulations only allowed Phase 2 outdoor boilers to be installed, effectively prohibiting the installation of far cleaner and more efficient indoor pellet boilers.

Scott Nichols, owner of Tarm biomass in Orford New Hampshire, is working with New Hampshire officials to avoid unintentional results.  One issue, for example, is his recommendation to maintain the exemption for outdoor pellet boilers from property line set back rules, an exemption in place since 2010.  Most states that regulate outdoor boilers have established set backs, from 50 to more than 200 feet. 

This shows the set back and stack height rules in Fairbanks, Alaska, one of more than 100 towns and counties that established local ordinances, albeit years after many boilers were already installed too close to other homes, schools and business.

The Alliance for Green Heat is urging states to retain or establish property line set backs for outdoor wood boilers, including the new certified ones, since they can still emit excessive smoke if they are loaded with unsplit, unseasoned wood.  “We recommend a minimum of 50 feet from the property line and 150 feet from the nearest neighboring residence for certified wood boilers and more for non-certified ones,” said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat. Towns and counties with deep valleys or where weather inversions are common will likely need far bigger set-backs.

As of mid-February, 2017, New Hampshire is proposing 50 foot set-backs for certified cord wood boilers, but Maryland’s draft did not include any set backs.

Another key issue for states is ensuring that only certified outdoor boilers are allowed for both residential and commercial use.  Unless states stipulate that all new installations be certified, unregulated boilers could still be installed in residential areas for commercial purposes, such as a chicken house or greenhouse.  The EPA does not regulate outdoor wood boilers that are used for commercial purposes.  Boiler manufacturers can sell unregulated boilers to homeowners who do not have any registered business, as long as they sign a form saying the boiler will only be hooked up to a greenhouse or garage, and not connected to the home.  If the homeowner connects the boiler to the house, the signed form protects the manufacturer from liability.

Another issue that retailers of modern indoor certified wood and pellet boilers are concerned with is the definition of outdoor boiler. “The EPA definition is poorly written and is a dragnet that catches every boiler in existence since any boiler can be installed outside or in a structure not normally occupied by humans” Scott Nichols said.  New Hampshire agreed and changed their regulations to specify that outdoor boilers are those boilers that are required to be installed outside, so as not to include indoor boilers that happen to be installed in a garage, for example. Nichols is urging “all states to change their definitions for OWHH as New Hampshire has.”

The EPA’s former voluntary qualification program and recent certification program for outdoor wood boilers (hydronic heaters) has helped to reduce particulate matter when the boilers are operated responsibly.  In addition to stricter emission standards, most certified boilers now have controls that help ensure better combustion throughout the burn cycle and reduce the impacts of cycling. 

However, many experts and state and local air quality agencies remain concerned that EPA-qualified Phase 2 and EPA certified boilers can produce excessive smoke in the hands of many operators.  One major policy response has been to establish set backs from property lines and/or nearby residences.  Most states where outdoor boilers are popular—with the exception of the Great Lake states where most outdoor boiler manufacturers are located—maintain set backs.  set backs help ensure that outdoor wood boilers are not installed in densely inhabited areas and even in rural areas, they provide a buffer with the immediate neighbors.

Property line set backs: The most common type of set backs are property line set backs.  They typically range from 50 to 200 feet, with 100 feet being the most common.  Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, and British Columbia all use property line set backs.

Set back from nearest neighboring residence: Connecticut and Vermont are the only two states that use set back from the nearest neighbor’s residence.  They both require 200 feet, representing stricter rules.

Both property line and nearest residence: Maine and Massachusetts use both property line and nearest residence.  For EPA Phase 2 boilers, Maine requires 50 feet from the property line or 70 feet from a neighbor’s house.  Massachusetts requires 50 feet from a property line and 75 feet from nearest home.

Seasonal restrictions: Two states, Indiana and Massachusetts, do not allow outdoor boilers to operate in the summer as they can cause even more pollution in warmer weather when they are likely to cycle on and off more frequently.  In addition, Maryland recently wrote draft regulations that would restrict use from May 1 to September 30.

Stack heights: Most states that require set backs also require minimum stack heights.  (This memo does not address these.)

Sunset clauses: Most state rules only apply to future installations, but some, such as Vermont and British Columbia, have sunset clauses for conventional boilers.  In British Columbia, only EPA certified and Phase 2 boilers can be operated after November 1, 2026.

Connecticut

Connecticut Law

CGS § 22a-174k, enacted in 2005, bans the installation or operation of OWBs that do not meet certain requirements. A violation of the law is an infraction.

With a few exceptions, the law prohibits anyone from building, installing, establishing, modifying, operating, or using an OWB until EPA regulations governing them take effect.

The law allows OWBs if they were either built, modified or in use before July 8, 2005; or they

1. are installed at least 200 feet from the nearest neighboring home;

Maine

DEP INFORMATION SHEET Regulation of Outdoor Wood Boilers , Effective Date: November 9, 2007 Contact: 1-800-452-1942 or 207-287-2437 Amended: July 4, 2008

SITE SETBACK REQUIREMENTS

OWB installations need to meet minimum setback requirements designed to protect public health. The setback distance required depends on the unit’s emission rating, with reduced setbacks allowed for cleaner-burning OWB models. The setback table below lists the minimum distance an OWB unit needs to be from any neighboring property line or dwelling. Buyers should carefully consider whether their property configuration provides the necessary space to meet the setback requirements before purchasing a boiler unit.

OWB Emission Rating (in pounds per million BTUs or lbs/MMBtu)	Minimum Setback Distances from Property Line OR from Dwelling
0.32 lbs/MMBtu	50 feet OR 70 feet
0.60 lbs/MMBtu	100 feet OR 120 feet
>0.60 lbs/MMBtu (including uncertified OWBs)	250 feet OR 270 feet

Massachusetts

310 CMR 7.26(50) Outdoor Hydronic Heaters

On and after December 26, 2008 no person shall:

1.     Site or install a residential-size outdoor hydronic heater that meets the emission standard defined in 310 CMR 7.26(53)(a), unless it is installed at least 50 feet from any property line and 75 feet from any occupied dwelling that it is not serving, at the time of installation.

New Hampshire 

125-R:3 Setback and Stack Height Requirements. –

   I. No person shall install a Phase I OWHH unless it is installed at least 100 feet from the nearest property line and has a permanent attached stack that is at least 2 feet higher than the peak of the roof of a residence or place of business not served by the OWHH if that residence or place of business is located within 300 feet of the OWHH.

    II. No person shall install a Phase II OWHH unless it is at least 50 feet from the nearest property line.

    III. No person shall install an OWHH that is not a Phase I or Phase II OWHH unless it is located at least 200 feet from the nearest abutting residence and has a permanent attached stack that is at least 2 feet higher than the peak of the roof of a residence or place of business not served by the OWHH if that residence or place of business is located within 300 feet of the OWHH.

Source. 2008, 362:2, eff. Aug. 10, 2008.

New York

6 CRR-NY 247.4

NY-CRR

SUBCHAPTER A. PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF AIR CONTAMINATION AND AIR POLLUTION

PART 247. OUTDOOR WOOD BOILERS

All new OWBs must meet minimum setback requirements. Residential-size new OWBs (thermal output ratings of 250,000 British thermal units per hour (Btu/h) or less) must be sited 100 feet or more from the nearest property boundary line. Commercial-size new OWBs (thermal output ratings greater than 250,000 Btu/h) must be sited 200 feet or more from the nearest property boundary line, 300 feet from the nearest property boundary line of a residentially-zoned property and 1,000 feet or more from a school.

Pennsylvania

Title 25—ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY BOARD

[ 25 PA. CODE CHS. 121 AND 123 ]

Outdoor Wood-Fired Boilers

[40 Pa.B. 5571]
[Saturday, October 2, 2010]

 

Under final-form subsection (d), regarding setback requirements for new Phase 2 outdoor wood-fired boilers, a person may not install, use or operate a new Phase 2 OWB unless the boiler is installed a minimum of 50 feet from the nearest property line.

Vermont

ADOPTED RULE – Effective Date: July 5, 2014 

                          AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES                               Montpelier, Vermont 

                     ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REGULATIONS                                    CHAPTER 5                              AIR POLLUTION CONTROL 

1.     Installation Requirements

(i) After October 1,1997, no person shall install or allow the installation of any OWB that is not a Phase I OWB or a Phase II OWB unless the OWB:

1. (A)  Is located more than 200 feet from any residence that is neither served by the OWB nor owned by the owner or lessee of the OWB; and,

Utah

R307. Environmental Quality, Air Quality.

Rule R307-208. Outdoor Wood Boilers.

As in effect on January 1, 2017

(2) No person shall operate an outdoor wood boiler within 1000 feet of a private or public school, hospital or day care facility.

(3) Setback. A new residential outdoor wood boiler shall not be located less than 100 feet from the nearest property boundary line. A new commercial outdoor wood boiler shall not be located less than 200 feet from the nearest property boundary nor 300 feet from a property boundary of a residentially zoned property.

British Columbia (Canada)

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
ORDER OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR IN COUNCIL
Order in Council No. 650 , Sept. 19 2016
Boilers -setback and operational requirements

7 (1) In this section, "installed" means installed outdoors or m a structure not ordinarily used as living space.

(2)  An owner of a parcel must ensure that a boiler that is installed on the parcel after November I, 2016 but before May 1, 2017 is installed as follows:

(a) if the boiler is a certified boiler or a phase 2 qualified boiler, not less than 40 m [131 feet] from each of the parcel's boundaries;

(b) in any other case, not less than 80 m [262 feet] from each of the parcel's boundaries.

(3)  An owner of a parcel must ensure that a boiler that is installed on the parcel on or after May 1, 2017 is

(a) a certified boiler, and

(b) installed not less than 40 m from each of the parcel's boundaries.

(4)  Despite subsections (2) (a) and (3), if the certified boiler is designed to bum only pelletized fuel, the boiler must be installed not Jess than I0 m [32 feet] from each of the parcel's boundaries.
(5)  A person must not operate a boiler installed contrary to subsection (2) (a) or (b), (3) or (4).

(6)  On and after November 1, 2026, a person must not operate an installed boiler unless the boiler is a certified boiler or a phase 2 qualified boiler.