Heating with Wood

Part 2 Advanced Combustion Woodburning FIREPLACE

Advanced Combustion Woodburning Fireplace Fireplace & Woodstove Emissions

50 45 40 35 Conventional Fireplace 30 Dirty Woodstove 25 20 Advanced Combustion 15 Fireplace 10 5 0 Air Requirements of Furnaces & Fireplaces

1.4

1.2

1 Conventional Fireplace 0.8 Conv Gas/Oil Furnace 0.6 Hi-Effic Gas/Oil 0.4 Furnace 0.2 Adv Combust Woodstove 0 Efficiencies of Advanced Combustion Fireplace & Stoves vs Conventional Fireplace 80 70 60 50 40 Room Air 30 Outside Air 20 10 0 Adv Stove Adv Conventional Fireplace Fireplace

Characteristics of Efficient, Safe, Advanced Wood Fireplace

• Tested to EPA 1990 • Preheated prim & sec air • Ceramic glass door • Insulated comb. chamber & baffle • Air wash for door • Good circulating fan • Insulated outer casing • Extremely attractive fire Advanced Combustion Fireplace Insert Advanced Combustion Insert for Existing Fireplace Masonry Heaters Masonry (Fireplace) Heater

• Concept common in Europe • Large mass with convoluted flue path to extract heat • Short periods of high burn to generate heat, which is stored in masonry for slow later release • May or may not be clean burning and efficient, depending on system - simple combustion air flow changes nearly doubled efficiency Masonry Heater

Characteristics of Good Masonry Heater

• Should follow MHA guidelines for design and installation • Installed inside house envelope, usually in centre with most/all sides exposed • Dampered outside air supply • Operates at high burn for relatively short period, potentially with good excess air, storing heat for slow release into house However, with evening burn, uncontrolled release of heat into house overnight may counter potential savings of thermostat cutback What combustion systems offer the greatest potential for renewable energy in new and existing homes ?

The Advanced Combustion woodburning appliances of today ! If harvesting is done properly, forests can be self-sustaining.

Wood heating can be considered a truly renewable resource and greenhouse gas-neutral !

For an advanced combustion woodstove or fireplace to be truly efficient & effective, it must be properly sized & located ! Location Location Location If not properly sized & located, efficient woodstoves & fireplaces can

• Be ineffective in supplying heat to house • Result in significant local overheating • Cause sig. client dissatisfaction Advanced Combustion woodstoves & fireplaces are primarily a localized space heaters, releasing significant amounts of heat by radiation

To be effective, and to prevent overheating, the fireplace should be properly size, and located in a major living area which “sees” other parts of the house

Good Fireplace Layout

Where to Install:

• On inside wall, or • On outside wall, but inside house envelope, or • If unavoidable, on outside wall, but having significant insulation on fireplace outer casing Fireplace/Furnace:

Integrated Gas Fireplace with Zoned Air Ducting

On-Going Advances in Fireplace Technology

• Inc. input modulation with good EA • Minimal-to-zero pilot energy • Minimized air requirement • Powered exhaust, no dilution (sealed or not) • Ducted systems with modulation/zoning Potential for Next Generation Fireplace As houses are getting lower and lower heat demands, people will become increasingly unwilling to pay $$$ for a high-efficiency furnace.

Yet they will demand to have a fireplace.

As it’s going to be there in any case, why not have the next generation fireplace satisfy all the house energy demands, efficiently ? Condensing Fireplace-Based Integrated Space-Water Ventilating System Next Generation Integrated Condensing Fireplace

• High Efficiency > 90% • Local space heating - Flame radiant • Central heating - fan coil or hydronic baseboard/radiant floor • Tap water heating • Second burner behind for summer operation • Ventilation with heat recovery • Pleasure of a flame Summary

• Advanced Combustion Woodstoves and Fireplaces ( EPA 1990) have the potential to be clean-burning and efficient • The above should be properly sized and located • Pellet stoves which have been tested for emissions (<3gph) and efficiency (>78%), offer more automation • Masonry heaters built according to MHA Guidelines can be suitable for some applications • Wood-burning central furnaces are generally problematic at this time • Some advanced-combustion wood boilers, particularly coupled with water storage, have good potential, but require significant user understanding and monitoring • All wood burning appliances require good venting systems, properly sized and ideally located inside the house envelope • Outdoor wood boilers should be avoided until properly certified and tested for emissions and efficiency by recognized agencies Review of Objectives

• Understand performance advantages with advanced woodstoves and pellet stoves • Appreciate the technology limitations and installation/operating requirements of central wood-fired boilers and furnaces • Understand why you should be wary of outdoor boilers • Appreciate air supply, venting, IAQ problems, drawbacks with conventional fireplaces • Recognize why advanced combustion fireplaces and inserts can allow the fireplace to return to Vermont homes • See how wood can be an efficient, low emissions (including Greenhouse gases) heat source, while providing comfort and even pleasure The potential is there. The pleasure is there. The comfort is there. The efficiency is there. The environmental benefits are there

Take it !!! Fireplace & Other Heating Publications on the “net”

http://energy-publications. nrcan.gc.ca/index_e.cfm

“Heating with Wood” “All about Wood Fireplaces” “All about Gas Fireplaces” If you wish more information, or wish to discuss specific problems, please don’t hesitate to contact Skip Hayden, at (613) 996 3186 or e-mail at [email protected]