In Race to Build Cleaner Wood Stove, 16th and 21st Centuries Collide

 Alliance for Green Heat, January 16, 2013 - A wood stove design competition to be held on the National Mall in DC this November is pitting 16th century designs against microchip-controlled automation. And it is not clear who will win.

“The wood stove has become of icon of tradition,” said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat. “But the question is, can microprocessors deliver far cleaner and more efficient wood heat at a very affordable price?”

For most Americans, clean renewable energy conjures up images of solar panels and wind turbines – not wood stoves and furnaces. But that could change. “This competition may produce technology so consistently clean that wood can become a top tier renewable like solar,” Ackerly said, whose organization is hosting the competition.

Eight of the 32 entries are innovations on masonry heaters, a technology developed in the 16th century when wood prices soared in Europe. These heaters are known for their ability to efficiently store and radiate heat for hours after the initial fire goes out. However, they tend to be expensive and may lose points in the affordability category.

Five of the stoves are automated, using oxygen sensors and thermostats to control some or all of the combustion. Some make their own electricity while others require it to operate their automatic controls. Some can recharge cell phones and be operated by smart phones.

Three of the stoves are technically boilers which send water to heat other rooms in the house, but look like regular living room wood stoves. Seven of the stoves are downdraft designs, meaning the flames are sucked down during the combustion process, which can result in extremely low emissions. Other designs don’t easily fit into any single category because they include several innovative features or are just very unique. Eight of the stoves are already in stores, vying for recognition and market share.

With a few exceptions, most teams come from North America and Europe, where the race to deploy renewable energy heating equipment is building momentum. Later this month, nine judges representing universities, institutions and government agencies will narrow down the 32 entries into 12-16 finalists that will be rigorously tested by trained stove technicians until an overall winner is chosen. Funding for the competition comes from government agencies, foundations and sponsors.

“The history of wood heating is not always a linear progression towards cleaner and more efficient designs,” said Ackerly, who created the competition with college friend Jim Meigs, now Editor-in-Chief of Popular Mechanics. “The pellet stove, invented in the U.S. in 1973, was a great leap in the history of cleaner wood heating. A similar leap is needed with cord wood, and when the right technology meets the right price, we could see a renaissance in wood heating,” Ackerly said.

To learn more about the Wood Stove Design Challenge, visit: http://www.forgreenheat.org/stovedesign.html

Forty Teams to Compete for Spots in Wood Stove Decathlon

October 31, 2012 - With only one day left before the registration deadline, more than 40 teams have registered for the Next Generation Wood Stove Design Challenge.

“We are thrilled by the amount of interest we received and are pleased that the judges will have a diverse pool from which to select finalists,” said Melissa Bollman, Program Manager for the Design Challenge. In January, the judges will convene at the Brookhaven National Laboratory to select up to 16 finalists to be tested and judged at the Wood Stove Decathlon in November 2013. Finalists will be announced on January 31, 2013.

The 40 registered teams come from 14 countries, representing all continents except Antarctica. Most are based in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, but several are from less-developed countries like Mexico, Columbia, India and the Philippines. The five student teams include the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Purdue University and University of Maryland, winner of the 2011 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

The Wood Stove Design Challenge pits well-known American stove brands with garage inventors and college students for the $25,000 prize and title of best next generation wood stove. Finalists will be tested next November by EPA accredited labs onsite at the National Mall in DC. A panel of recognized wood stove experts serving as judges will select the finalists, oversee testing and choose the winners.

Competitors represent a range of wood stove technologies

The competition is designed to be as inclusive as possible, giving all cordwood stove developers the chance to demonstrate why their particular technology is the cleanest and most efficient in the world. Although teams are not required to disclose technical details at this early stage, it appears that several will be using oxygen sensors to regulate combustion, 4 are masonry heaters, 2 are catalytic hybrids, 5 use high-tech European technology, and 8 are smaller, less high-tech designs for use in smaller homes or in the developing world.

“We are excited to see some of the new R&D from the international cook stove movement being applied to heating stoves,” said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance. “One of our goals is simply to bring together innovators, manufacturers, regulators, testers and funders to learn from each other and see what innovation works the best in different applications.”

Earlier this month, the Alliance decided to remove one of its minimum eligibility criteria that barred stoves with less than 1.5 cubic foot fireboxes from entering. “We hoped that dropping the minimum firebox size would open the competition to more teams from colder regions of the developing world who need very affordable heaters,” explained Ackerly. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a public-private partnership that focuses on the universal adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels, is a partner of the competition. Other partners include Popular Mechanics, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Sponsorship opportunities are available to help underwrite the competition, contact Melissa Bollman (melissa@forgreenheat.org) to learn more.