Households heating with wood or pellets declined by nearly 10% between 2011 and 2016

By Melissa Bollman, Alliance for Green Heat

In 2011, the Alliance for Green Heat reported a significant rise in the number of U.S. homes using wood or pellets as a primary source of heat. According to the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey, residential wood and pellet heat grew 34% between 2000 and 2010, faster than any other heating fuel. Propane and oil heat experienced the greatest declines during the time period, leading the Alliance to speculate that the rise of wood and pellet heating was driven by the economic recession, rising oil prices, and support for renewable energy.

Wood and pellet heating continued to rise during the next few years (see AGH analyses for 2011 and 2012) at an average rate of about 1-2% per year with some states experiencing higher growth. In 2014, the Census reported that an estimated 2.5 million U.S. households used wood or pellets as a primary heating fuel. Since then, however, the number and percentage of U.S. homes primarily heating with wood and pellets leveled off and saw a modest decline. According to the newest American Community Survey, around 2.2 million homes of U.S. homes primarily heated with wood and pellets in 2016—a nearly 12% decline from 2014 and a 9.4% drop from 2011.

Census figures suggest that wood and pellet use has fallen the most in the Southern states of North Carolina (down 17% from 2011), South Carolina (-25%), and Louisiana (-20%). Wood and pellet heat also appears to be on the decline in the Northeastern states of Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, which may be the result of more homes installing electric heat pumps. While nearly all states reported fewer homes heating with wood and pellets between 2011 and 2016, the largest increases were reported in Delaware (+20% between 2011 and 2016), New Jersey (14%) Utah (11%), and North Dakota (7%).

While wood and pellet use has declined in recent years, electric heat pumps and solar thermal systems are on the rise. American Community Survey results show that U.S. electric heating rose 10.4% between 2011 and 2016, with the largest increases occurring in Utah (+48%), Maine (+36%), Nebraska (+30%), and Vermont (+30%). About 39% of U.S. homes used electricity as a primary heating source in 2016, making it the second-most common source behind utility gas, which is used in nearly half of U.S. homes.

Warmer winters likely contribute to a longer-term decline in wood and pellet stove sales. According to annual data from NOAA, average U.S. winter temperatures increased between 2014 and 2016, which coincided with a decrease in the number of homes heating mainly with wood or pellets. But the big event during the years of this analysis was the economic recession, which lasted from 2007 to 2009. During these years, the number of U.S. homes heating with wood and pellets rose 15%. The use of stoves as primary heater usually goes up when the economy slows down, as people turn on their fossil fuel central heaters less and rely more on cheap wood. When economy is good, families tend to burn more fossil fuels and less wood. Pellet usage may also follow that trend, but tends to be even more volatile than cord wood.


While wood and pellet use has declined in recent years, electric heat pumps and solar thermal systems are on the rise. American Community Survey results show that U.S. electric heating rose 10.4% between 2011 and 2016, with the largest increases occurring in Utah (+48%), Maine (+36%), Nebraska (+30%), and Vermont (+30%). About 39% of U.S. homes used electricity as a primary heating source in 2016, making it the second-most common source behind utility gas, which heats nearly half of U.S. homes.

Less than 0.5% of U.S. households obtain their heat from solar energy, but the number of American homes using solar thermal technologies more than doubled between 2011 and 2016. The Census estimated that over 150,000 U.S. homes used solar energy as a primary heat source in 2016, while only approximately 122,728 households (50% of which are in Pennsylvania) used coal. This marks the first time solar surpassed coal as a primary U.S. residential heating source in Census estimates. Maryland, Oklahoma, and Louisiana had the largest increases in solar heating between 2011 and 2016. However, solar thermal remains the most popular in California, Arizona, and Hawaii.

The percentage of U.S. homes using other heating sources, namely, utility gas, propane, and fuel oil, has remained fairly constant over the past few years. Although the number of U.S. homes using wood or pellets as a primary heat source grew significantly during the 2000s and early 2010s, the overall percentage of U.S. homes remained fairly constant at around 2%.

Since the U.S. Census Bureau started tracking heating data in 1950, wood heating has had wide swings. Starting at 10% of the population in 1950, it dropped to 1.3% in 1970, an all-time low. By 1990, wood had climbed back to 3.9%, only to drop back to 1.6% in 2000. The recent decline in wood and pellets as a primary heat source could indicate that wood use is starting to level off. However, this is complicated by the enduring popularity of wood and pellets as a supplementary heating source. The newest Residential Energy Consumption Survey by the EIA estimates that an additional 9.3 million U.S. households used wood as a secondary heat source in 2015.

This analysis is based on 1-year estimates from the American Community Survey. The decennial Census, which is used primarily for redistricting, provides the most accurate statistics. The 2017 American Community Survey results will be released in September.

-->

2012 Census Shows Wood Heating Continues Growth Streak

Alliance for Green Heat, Sept. 25, 2013 - According to recently released U.S. Census statistics, 63,566 more families used wood or pellets as a primary heating fuel in 2012 compared to 2011, which amounts to an increase of 2.6%, making wood again the fastest growing heating fuel in America.

From 2000 to 2010, wood and pellet home heating grew by 34%, faster than any of the other heating fuels, including solar and natural gas. Oil and propane use declined between 2000 and 2010, and the decline continued in 2012.

Today, 2.1% of Americans use wood or pellets as their primary heating fuel, up from 1.6% in 2000. An additional 7.7 % of U.S. households use wood as a secondary heating fuel, according to the 2009 EIA Renewable Energy Consumption Survey.

Nearly 2.5 million households use wood as a primary heating fuel, making it, by far, the dominant residential source of renewable energy in the United States. In comparison, only about 500,000 of U.S. homes have solar panels and less than 50,000 use solar thermal heating. Solar thermal heating dropped by 2% in 2012 from 2011, according to the new Census numbers.

The states with the biggest growth in wood heat from 2011 - 2012 are Delaware (35.1%), Rhode Island (29.6%), Nebraska (24.6%), New Hampshire (18.5%) and New Jersey (17.7%). However, other states experienced declines. Among the important wood heating states of Washington, Oregon and California, the decline was very small, but there were more significant declines in Illinois (5.2%), Idaho (5%) and Colorado (4.8%). Over a 12-year period, the prevalence of wood heating has increased, often very significantly, in every state except Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Hawaii.

Since the U.S. Census Bureau started tracking heating data in 1950, wood heating has had wide swings. Starting at 10% of the population in 1950, it dropped to 1.3% of the population in 1970, an all-time low. By 1990, wood had climbed back to 3.9%, only to drop back to 1.6% in 2000. The biggest growth story in heating fuel is electricity, which went from under 1% in 1950 to 36% today.

The environmental costs of using electricity for heating is high in most states, where the majority of electricity is still made with coal. The environmental cost of drilling and transporting other fossil fuels like oil and gas can also be high. Wood heating has an environmental cost from the particulate matter in the smoke, particularly from older stoves in more densely inhabited areas, and, in some states, from growing numbers of outdoor wood boilers. The EPA has proposed stricter emission standards for wood and pellet stoves and boilers and the Office of Management and Budget is reviewing them now.

Some of the growth in wood heating can be attributed to households that already had stoves, but now use them as primary heaters, instead of a secondary ones. Other households may have bought and installed stoves they found on the second hand market, which is legal in all states except Washington and Oregon.

The trend towards greater use of wood and pellets is mainly due to the lower operating costs compared to oil, propane and electricity. Three states – New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine – have provided generous rebates for pellet boilers to help residents replace costly oil heating systems and keep their heating dollars local. Maryland recently established a rebate for the cleanest wood and pellet stoves for rural homes that do not have access to natural gas.

For more info on 2012 U.S. Census data and on trends from 2000 - 2010, and more details about wood heat in the 2000 – 2010 Census.

The Alliance Partners with USDA & Groups to Promote Wood Heat

John Ackerly, president of the Alliance for Green Heat, on September 11 joined the USDA's Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden, along with leaders from, the Biomass Power Association, the Biomass Thermal Energy Council, and the Pellet Fuels Institute, in Washington for the announcement of their new partnership agreement. The alliance will jointly promote and expand the woody biomass sector, which will help to improve the safety and health of our nation's forests.

"Today's announcements will help us find innovative ways to use leftover wood to create renewable energy and support good jobs in rural America," USDA Secretary Vilsack said. "Wood to Energy efforts are a part of our 'all of the above' energy strategy. Appropriately scaled wood energy facilities also support our efforts to remove hazardous fuels and reduce the risks of catastrophic wildfires."

The Alliance for Green Heat is part of this partnership to work more closely with the US government to advance cleaner and more efficient wood and pellet stoves. "The USDA is uniquely positioned to help rural families better use wood and pellets to heat their homes and we look forward to working with them on that," said John Ackerly.

The partnership agreement focuses on promoting wood energy nationwide as a means to address fire risk, bolster rural economic development, improve air quality and help meet the Obama Administration's renewable energy and energy efficiency goals. These organizations support the use of wood energy across the scale of users – from residential users, to commercial and institutional facilities, to industrial production of heat and/or electricity to drive businesses and feed the electrical grid.

Staff from USDA and the four groups will meet regularly to develop and implement an action plan for wood energy, seeking to increase awareness of USDA program opportunities, encourage adoption of wood to energy technologies, and strengthen coordination of industry and USDA initiatives.

See More Photos Here
See the USDA's press release Here
See remarks delivered at the event by John Ackerly below.

Remarks by John Ackerly at the Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

September 11, 2013

I'm John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat. We represent the interests of more than 10 million American households who heat their homes with wood and pellets.

We hear about solar a lot, but families who heat with wood make three times the energy that all residential solar panels make. In fact, it's rural Americans with modern wood and pellet stoves who are leading the residential renewable energy movement and that is something we should be really proud of.

With the resurgence of wood and pellet heating, it's the third most common form of heating in America after gas and electricity.

But we need even cleaner and more efficient stoves on the market, and we need to help remove the older, less efficient wood stoves. The Forest Service is a partner in places like Seeley Lake, Montana, where old stoves are being replaced with modern, new ones, resulting in significant improvements in air quality. We are glad this MOU will put a spotlight on how wood and pellets can help rural families affordably heat their homes with a local, renewable fuel.

On November 16^th through 19^th, we are holding the Wood Stove Decathlon, a competition to see what team can make the cleanest, most efficient, and most affordable wood stove, right here on the National Mall in front of this building. We are proud that USDA is a partner in this technology competition. I invite you all to come.

You probably think you know what a wood stove is. Well, come check out these high-tech stoves in November: you will see computerized wood stoves, condensing wood stoves, stoves you control with your smart phone – and stoves that even charge your smart phone in a black-out. And maybe most importantly, you will see stoves that are automated with oxygen sensors, which are used in all of your cars, and are key to clean and efficient combustion in cars, boilers and many other applications.

Thank you Secretary Vilsack, and also Chief Tidwell, and I look forward to seeing you on the Mall in November. 

Consumer Reports Rates Chain Saws

Heavy-Duty Gas

Think it’s hard to decide between industry leaders Stihl and Husqvarna? Well, so does Consumer Reports magazine. But in the October 2013 issue, Stihl edged out Husqvarna on performance and price, garnering a “CR Best Buy”. The Stihl MS 180 C-BE (or the 181 C-BE) got CR’s top rating, and cost only $230.

These two top performers both weighed 11 pounds and had 16 inch chains. The Husqvarna 435 440E came in second at $270. Third and fourth place went to Echo, and a Poulan Pro came in 5^th at $180.

Light-Duty Gas

Among the light duty saws, the Craftsman 34190 (made by Poulan Pro) came in top, at $150 and the Homelite UTI0589A second at $160. The light duty saws were no lighter in weight, and sometimes were heavier than the heavy-duty saws. Their chain length was also the same, either 16 or 18 inch.

Corded Electric

The top ranked corded electric saws performed as well as the light-duty gas saws. The best, the Worx WG303.1 cost only $100 and weighs 11 pounds. It sawed as quickly as some light duty models and spared you the hassle of refueling, pull starting and tune-ups.

Consumer Reports did not provide any information on repair history. For the complete CR story you may have to be a CR subscriber: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/chain-saws.htm?loginMethod=auto

Now for advice from the Alliance for Green Heat: Even if your wood stove can take an 18 or even a 20 inch log, considering cutting lots into lengths of about 14 to 16 inches, especially if you're planning to burn it in the next few months (less than 6 months). Shorter, split pieces of wood will dry faster, and give you more usable BTUs from each log. And remember, you need to split the wood as soon as possible to really start the drying process. Un-split wood does not dry well and can double the time it takes to season the wood. The EPA's Burn Wise program's Best Burn Practices notes, "Wood burns best when the moisture content is less than 20 percent. You can purchase a wood moisture meter to test the moisture content of your wood before you burn it."

Reduced buying power may lead to more reliance of wood to heat homes

Median household income has declined 4.4% since the official end of the recession in 2009, and is 6% lower than when we went into the recession in 2007. This enduring reduction in the buying power of the American consumer may lead to a continued increase in the use of wood and pellets, as more Americans seek cheaper alternatives to oil, propane, and electric heating.

Source: The Washington Post. Fletcher, Michael.
"Four years after end of recession, incomes remain depressed

It is likely that the surge in wood heating between 2000 and 2010 was partly due to reduced buying power and job loss. During that time, wood and pellets were the fastest growing heating fuel in America. States where unemployment was the highest typically saw even higher growth in wood heating.

New studies show that lower income families have locked in that reduced buying power since the end of the recession. Income growth in America over the past 10 years has disproportionately gone to the top and very top income groups. Those income groups may be installing high-end outdoor kitchens and fireplaces, but they rarely use wood or pellets as a primary heating source. Rather, the lower income groups are more likely to rely on wood as a primary heating fuel, according to Census Bureau statistics.

The long-term reduced buying power of Americans is also likely contributing to the growth in the sales of less expensive wood stoves such as those sold at big box stores.  Industry experts say sales of wood and pellet stoves at large hardware chains has grown significantly in the last 5 years.  It also may be leading to more sales of very cheap stoves that are exempt from EPA emission standards.  And, it is likely leading to more families continuing to rely on older stoves, instead of upgrading to newer, cleaner and more efficient stoves.

Inflation adjusted median household income is now about $52,000, compared to about $56,000 before the recession. What is notable is that while unemployment continues to drop, from a high of 10% to 7.5%, median income has not risen.  Energy costs take a much bigger bite out of the incomes of families who are below the median income range, leading to energy insecurity and reduced use of HVAC systems.

Source: The Washington Post. Fletcher, Michael. "Four years after end of recession, incomes remain depressed"