The inability of new and old wood stoves to predictably run well in the hands of consumers is proving to be the biggest downfall of the technology.
The Alliance for Green Heat will hold an Advances in Optimizing Cordwood Heating Through Forced Air Injection and Automated Controls webinar on December 1st at 12:30 PM (ET).
In this webinar, researchers from Oregon State University and Aprovecho Research Center will share results from a five-year U.S. Department of Energy project focused on transforming residential wood heating through advanced technologies. The project developed innovative forced-air combustion systems, automated air controls, and real-time monitoring tools that can be added to existing stove designs to reduce pollution while improving user experience.
The webinar will present field and laboratory testing results from four prototype stove retrofits, including systems that automatically adjust airflow based on combustion conditions. In testing, some retrofit approaches achieved reductions in PM2.5 emissions of more than 90%, while user trials reported cleaner startups, simpler operation, and strong consumer interest in the technology.
Attendees will learn how these technologies work, what researchers discovered about real-world stove operation, and how automation could help address long-standing challenges in wood heating, including emissions, efficiency, safety, and ease of use. The presenters will also discuss barriers to commercialization, evolving certification requirements, and the next steps needed to bring these innovations to market.
Nordica’s team published results in a peer reviewed journal, and showed there is tremendous opportunity to reduce PM in real world settings with both dry and wet wood. “During wet-wood combustion, simultaneous air-injection, implemented through control-logic modification alone demonstrated PM2.5 emissions below 2.5 g/h and 1 g/kg, indicating limited sensitivity of the stove to fuel moisture content.”
To take part in this webinar, register at Webinar Registration – Zoom