Massachusetts first in recognizing efficiency and automation in wood stove program

Updated, April 12, 2019: Massachusetts has developed the first wood stove change out program in the country that recognizes the value of automated stoves and stoves that disclose their verified efficiency to consumers.  The program details, updated in April 2019, offers Massachusetts residents between $500 and $3,250 for upgrades, depending on the stove and income level of the family.

The Commonwealth Woodstove Change-Out Program has committed $1.8 million in funding for change-outs from 2017 through 2019. The 2017 program represents the sixth round of funding since the program's launch in 2012. The program has helped more than 1,400 residents swap out their non-EPA certified, inefficient stoves for newer, cleaner models, and approximately 500 of these rebates went to residents earning less than 80 percent of the state median income.

The program is like scores of others across the country, but Massachusetts is the first to give an additional rebate of $500 for pellet stoves and $250 for wood stoves that are above 65% efficient (actual tested efficiency reported to the EPA). Most manufacturers do not disclose the actual efficiency of their stoves but provide exaggerated, misleading efficiency values on their websites.

The program is run the by Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) in coordination with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER).  It is also the first program that gives an additional rebate for stoves that have automated features and control the airflow with sensors or other devices, providing a cleaner burn for the consumer. 

Most stoves are eligible for a $500 - $1,250 rebate depending on how clean they are, but four automated stoves qualify for a $1,500 rebate, or a $2,750 rebate for income-qualified families.  Three of the four automated stoves also qualify for an additional $250 that have efficiencies above 65% that are verified by the EPA.

The additional rebate for automated stoves may only come to $250 or $500, but the recognition of this new class of stoves is a significant step for the stove industry.  These stoves are more known in Europe, but in the US, the terminology, rationale and classification of automated stoves is still in its infancy. 

The Mass program may be a sign of how change-out programs can adapt to changing wood stove technology.  Automated stoves help achieve one of the biggest challenges stoves face: how to get stoves to perform as well in the home as they did in the lab.  The Mass program explains, “The low emission and high efficiency lab test ratings are more likely to be realized in households because user error is minimized.” 

One of the next huge steps for wood stoves is to have them designed and tested with cord wood instead of 2x4s and 4x4s, the fuel they are designed for and tested with today.  In the next 2 or 3 years, change-out programs are likely to also start awarding additional rebates for stoves made by manufacturers willing to start designing and testing with cord wood, something that the new EPA stove regulations are making possible.

Stove eligibility

The EPA requires all stoves to emit 4.5 grams of particulate matter per hour or less, but the Mass program only allows stoves that emit under 3.5 grams.  The list of stoves eligible in Mass is 24 pages long and explains their rebate eligibility.  The Maine, Maryland, and New York programs also require lower gram per hour limits than the EPA.

The MassCEC does not allow gas stoves to participate in the program because Massachusetts statute prohibits them from providing incentives to fossil fuel use, said Peter McPhee, Renewable Thermal Program Director at the MassCEC.

Non-catalytic stoves: The Mass program is more aggressive than any other change-out program in providing bigger incentives for cleaner wood stoves.  They offer $500 for non-cat stoves that emit 3 – 3.5 grams per hour, $1,000 for stoves from 2 – to less than 3 grams per hour and $1,250 for stoves that emit less than 2 grams per hour.  Of the 309 non-cat stoves on the market today, 166 are eligible for some level of rebate because they emit 3.5 grams per hour or less.

Catalytic stoves: To be eligible, a catalytic stove must emit 2 grams per hour or less.  Of the 67 cat stoves on the market, 27 are under 2 grams and eligible.  Catalytic stoves under 2 grams get a $1,000 rebate, $250 less than a non-cat stove that is under 2 grams.

Pellet stoves: Like catalytic stoves, pellet stoves must emit 2 grams per hour or less, and are eligible for $1,250 (plus an additional $500 for an efficiency bonus, if they have a verified efficiency.)  Of the 115 pellet stoves on the market, 81 are eligible as they emit 2 grams an hour or less.  Providing similar rebates for wood and pellet stoves is increasingly rare as most change-out programs give 50 – 100% higher rebates for pellet stoves, compared to wood stoves.  Nationally, the median rebate for a wood stove is $600 for wood stoves and $1,000 for pellet stoves.

Automated stoves: Four stoves qualify as automated under this program: The Quadra Fire Adventure II and Adventure III, the MF Fire Catalyst and the RSF Delta Fusion.   All of these stoves break new ground in operating cleanly while drastically reducing the margin of human error, which is considerable. More European or American automated models are likely to come onto the market in coming years.

 Efficiency

A number of states are trying to include efficiency in their change-out programs, but Mass is the first to do so.  The underlying problem is that before 2015, stoves were not required to disclose their efficiency.  Today, only a quarter of wood stoves on the market disclose their actual, verified efficiency.  Stoves certified since May 2015 are required to test for and disclose their efficiency.  Some companies have taken the extra step and voluntarily disclosed their actual efficiencies and do not exaggerate their numbers on promotional materials.

If a program only gave rebates to stoves with verified efficiencies, the consumer would only have 125 out of 500 stoves to choose from.  So, Mass chose not to make efficiency disclosure a requirement, but gives a $250 or $500 bonus for stoves that meet a minimum efficiency of at least 65%, well under the average stove efficiency which is around 70%.  This will likely drive sales towards manufacturers who disclose their efficiencies and will also educate consumers about the importance of selecting highly efficient wood and pellet stoves.  An additional $500 is significant.  More manufacturers may start to disclose their efficiencies to be eligible for higher rebates as other states begin to recognize efficiency as Mass did. 

Of the 38 pellet stoves that disclose actual efficiencies, four are not eligible for the change-out program as they emit more than 2 grams an hour, and 3 are not eligible for the $500 efficiency adder as they are less than 65% efficient.  This leaves 31 pellet stoves eligible for the $250 adder.

Of the 23 catalytic stoves with verified efficiencies, four are not eligible as they exceed 2 grams per hour and one of those four is under 65% efficient, leaving 19 eligible for the $500 adder. 

Of the 66 non-cat stoves with verified efficiencies, 17 exceed 3.5 grams and are not eligible for the program.  Two others are not eligible for the $250 adder as they are under 65% efficient.  This leaves 37 stoves eligible for the $250 efficiency adder.

Participating retailers

Residents must have the new stove installed by a Participating Stove Professional who follows the guidelines of the program, which includes ensuring the old, uncertified wood stove is destroyed.  There are currently 32 participating stove retailers, four of which are outside of Massachusetts and three of which are chimney sweep businesses.  However, MassCEC says that they expect a total of 40 – 50 in coming weeks. They are likely to be NFI or CSIA accredited, but are not required to be.  Residents are encouraged to find installers who are. 

Programs that require residents to work with participating retailers can effectively limit the range of stove models that they can buy.  Retailers like to install stoves that they sell, so they can make profit on both the sale and the install.  But some eligible stoves available at Home Depot can offer real bargains particularly for lower income families.  Some participating retailers or chimney sweeps may install stoves purchased elsewhere by consumers, but some may decline to do so.  Many eligible wood and pellet stoves are made by small companies and a few are made by companies that sell direct to consumers. They may have a harder time participating in this change out-program.

The rebate is provided to the participating retailer, not to the homeowner, which is common in change-out programs.  This enables the consumer to get the discount immediately at time of payment.  Participating retailers must promise not increase the price of stoves or installations for customers using the program.  And MassCEC promises to pay the rebate to the Stove Professional within thirty (30) days.

Income qualified

Another notable feature of the MassCEC program is its generous rebate levels for families that are well above the poverty line, but below the median income of Massachusetts families.  Families are eligible for the higher rebate amounts if they earn 80% of the median income that is $87,000 for a family of four and $59,000 for a family of two. 

“We wanted to be able to drive benefits towards more people who really need assistance in the up-front capital costs,” said Peter McPhee from MassCEC. 

Incomes are much higher in the Boston urban area than in the rest of the more rural state, so a majority of families will be eligible for the higher rebates in more rural areas where demand for wood and pellet heat is highest.  In the western Mass county of Berkshire, the median family income is about $50,000.  Total project costs are estimated to be an average of $3,000 to $4,300.  Income eligible families receive between $1,500 and $3,000, or 40% to 100% of project costs. 

MassCEC has held change-out programs for the past five years and pending funding, may hold more in the coming years.  The program has $1.8 million in funding for 2017 through 2019.  Program managers are not only aware of changing technology in wood stoves but also the changing policy landscape.  The EPA’s emission standards are under attack from the Republican right-wing in Congress and the main stove industry association is suing the EPA over them.  The MassCEC program manual hints that they will continue with the emission standards developed under the Obama Administration: “Should NSPS requirements be modified in the future, MassCEC will likely retain these future emissions level requirements.”

Wood and pellet stove prices rise 3% in wake of new EPA regulations

Since the EPA announced stricter emissions regulations for wood and pellet stoves, prices increased by an average of 3% over a two-year period when adjusted for inflation, based on a review of 77 popular stove models. Without inflation, prices increased by an average of 4%.

The Alliance for Green Heat, an independent non-profit focused on the wood and pellet heating sector, tracked retail prices for 77 wood and pellet stoves over a two-year period, from February 2015 to February 2017. The EPA announced new regulations on February 3rd and they took effect on May 15, 2015. Even stricter emission limits are set for 2020 and the Alliance will continue to track prices through 2020 and beyond.

We identified 77 stoves made by 7 popular brands with varying price points: Jotul, Blaze King, Harman, Quadrafire, Woodstock Soapstone, Hearthstone, US Stove, and Englander.

It is impossible to tell how much regulations contributed to the 3% price rise, although each of the 7 brands are going through periods of increased R&D as they work towards complying with the 2020 emission limits. The EPA set a maximum of 7.5 grams an hour in 1990, 4.5 in 2015 and 2.0 or 2.5 grams in 2020. Most stoves already met the 4.5 gram limit in 2015, but most do not meet the 2020 limits. It is possible that some companies are starting to pass those costs along to consumers.

There may be steeper price rises as 2020 approaches and companies have to begin more intensive R&D and certification testing.  However, industry is pushing a bill in Congress to delay the 2020 emission standards to 2023.  The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association is also suing the EPA to block the 2020 emission standards for boilers and furnaces, but not necessarily for stoves.  The bill in Congress is partially designed to give the litigation enough time to get through the courts.  

We tracked the retail prices of 59 wood stoves and 18 pellet stoves using the sale or final price of the stove listed on the retailer’s website. Overall, the 59 wood stove retail prices rose an average of 4% ($80) or 3% ($45) when accounting for inflation. The pellet stove category saw a greater average price increase of 5% ($106) or 3% ($66) per stove when accounting for inflation.

• Four-fifths of the 77 wood and pellet stoves increased in price over the two years. Of these, the average price increase was 6% ($125) or 5% ($90) when adjusting for inflation.
• About one-fifth of the 77 stoves did not go up in price between February 2015 and 2017. The majority of the Englander and Blaze King models we tracked stayed the same price.
• Four wood stoves out of 77 wood and pellet stoves -- one Jotul, two Hearthstone, and one US Stove -- declined in price. The average decline was 6% ($250).

The EPA is required by law to do an economic regulatory impact analysis (PDF) and determine if the costs of the regulation outweigh the benefits. The EPA predicted slightly higher retail costs, and as a result, a slight decline in demand for new stoves. However, on balance they estimated that the overall health and other benefits vastly outweigh the costs.

Some commentators, members of Congress and editors claimed the EPA regulations would make wood stove prices rise sharply and be unaffordable for the average American.

The EPA also is required to assess the impact of the regulation on small businesses, since more than 90% of stove manufacturers and retailers are small firms. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the industry employed 15,911 workers in 2011.

Price changes by brand and stove type

The wood stoves with the highest price decreases, Hearthstone’s Bari 8170 and Lima 8150, which declined in price by $620 and $300 respectively, were the priced the highest of any stove on our list in 2015 at $4,999 and $5,299. No pellet stove we tracked declined in price in 2017 and the only two pellet stoves did not increase in price in 2017 (both Englanders priced between $1,000 and $2,000).

Wood stove price increases ranged from 1% (Hearthstone Castleton 8030 and Craftsbury 8391) to 35% (US Stove’s Large Woodstove). Among the wood stoves that increased in price between 2015 and 2017, the average increase was around $125 or 6% more than the 2015 price. Seven of the nine pellet stoves that rose in price increased by an even $100, regardless of their 2015 price, which represented a 3-4% increase. All five of the Harman pellet stoves, which retailed between $2,999 and $3,999 retail in 2015, were listed $100 higher by the same retailer in 2017.

For the sake of consistency, we only used stove prices at one or at most two retailers per brand. We used final or sale prices rather than “suggested retail price” or “regular price” when given. The number of stoves we selected per brand varied based on the number of models available in 2015 and the number of models that continued to be sold by that retailer in 2017.

Englander and US Stove had some of the lowest prices stoves we began tracking in 2015, with a median price of about $1,000. At about the middle were the brands Woodstock Soapstone (median price of $2,400), Quadrafire ($2,550), and Jotul ($2,700). The more expensive stove brands included our study, based on median prices, were Hearthstone ($2,900), Blaze King ($2,950), and Harman ($3,000).

Four out of five Blaze King stoves, three out of four Englander wood stoves and all (two) Englander pellet stoves did not increase in price over these two years. The sixteen Hearthstone wood and pellet stoves we tracked declined in price by an average of 1% ($3.75) per stove, thanks in great part to large drop in price for two of the brand’s priciest ($5,000+) wood stoves.

As for the brands that increased their prices, Jotul’s 19 wood stoves increased by an average of 3% ($79) each. Quadrafire’s and Harman’s wood and pellet stoves both increased by an average of 4% each ($101 for Quadrafire, $122 for Harman). Harman’s wood and pellet stoves increased in price by an average of $122 per stove. US Stove and Woodstock Soapstone had the greatest average price increases of any brand at 15% each (Woodstock Soapstone has frequent sales which we did not take into account). US Stove’s stove prices increased by an average of $155 per stove and Woodstock Soapstone’s increased by an average of $408 per stove.

The EPA regulations had a much larger impact on prices on companies making unregulated outdoor wood boilers and unregulated wood furnaces.  Prices for boilers rose at a sharper rate than stoves, although we did not track those prices and cannot offer any estimates.