The Basics of Wood Burning Stoves: A Case for Standards or Rating Systems?

Many people interested in better stoves know something about fire, smoke, health and new ideas.  However, to explain these on a more fundamental level that is understood by all can be difficult.  Therefore to explain the relationship between health and smoke, I turn to the late comedian Steve Allen who said that “Asthma doesn't seem to bother me any more unless I'm around cigars or dogs. The thing that would bother me most would be a dog smoking a cigar.”  For those who are promoting stoves innovations, I quote Mark Twain who says “The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.” 

More seriously, I recently came across this nice brochure on space heating stoves that has been published by the California Environmental Protection Agency.  I was struck by this brochure because in a very simple way it publicizes the issue of smoke and health, the need for standards,  the basic principles of combustion and even the alternatives to wood stoves including gas and electricity.    These are many of the same issues that the clean cooking community today is attempting to communicate to the general public.  This brochure highlights the fact that improved heating stoves in the United States and other developed countries are now very efficient and burn very cleanly compared to past stoves.  But this was not always the case. 

Painting of Old Heating Stove in School

On a personal note, I can remember old coal stoves used to heat "temporary" small classrooms built to accommodate a sudden rise in student populations.  These "potbelly" coal heating stoves were similar to the wood burning stove in the picture.  At the time in western Pennsylvania coal was king and this was at the very end of the time period when people would heat with traditional coal stoves.  Was it smoky? Yes. Was it energy efficient? No. Did it give good even heat?  No.  Wast it durable? Yes. Was it safe? Yes. Was it cheap?  Yes.  Now of course schools are heated with modern systems. 

Even now there are legacy fireplaces and wood stoves that burn warmed air in the house which in turn draws in cold air from the outside.  Thus, the old traditional space heating stoves in developed countries are somewhat analogous to open cooking fires in developing countries.  The rather important exceptions are that the cooking fires and traditional cookstoves in developing countries typically are built of local materials by those who use them and they also do not have chimneys.

The old wood heating stoves produced and sold were both polluting and inefficient.  After the EPA developed and approved standards for space heating wood stoves in 1988 the manufacturers mostly fell into step and now the stoves meet the fairly strict standards and are sold advertising this fact in retail stores around the country.   During the initial years after the regulations took pace there were many stove manufacturers that went out of business probably because their products could not meet the new standards.  The regulations are not for the faint at heart, and I provide a link to compliance monitoring for them.  You will find that they are very exhaustive. However, one advantage of having such standards is that now programs are being implemented in some communities to change out old stoves for EPA certified new ones thus reducing emissions during cold weather.  These stove can also be inserted into fireplaces.  I just recently had one (a Vermont Castings Montpelier fireplace insert) installed and your can see a picture if it in the by clicking this link.

Burnside early 19th Century Coal/Wood Potbelly 
Stove in use in David's Auto-Credit: D. Barnes

By contrast, for cooking stoves in most developing countries, there are no established standards and no agreement on rating systems that would confirm that new stoves are efficient, durable, clean burning or safe.   One question is whether the establishment of standards or rating systems for typical cooking cycles like those used to rate gas mileage in cars could be the catalyst that leads to widespread development and adoption of stoves in developing countries, and also be the catalyst for improving stove performance.  After all, such stoves could be sold in stores accompanied by marketing campaigns that extol their virtues.  Donors and governments could promote these stove in their projects and be assured that they actually perform better that traditional stoves or open fires.  Communities could use local block grants or development funds to participate in programs to improve local health due to reduced pollution both indoors and outside.   Providing support to develop markets for approved stoves could be justified based on the both environmental and health grounds due to assured benefits. 

Today there is some possible movement on efforts to establish standards or at the very least a rating system for better stoves. Before getting started on the new better stove initiatives do we need to establish a framework for standards, protocols and rating systems.  Is this a good or bad idea?  

Take the poll and provide comments!   I know there are some strong feelings about this topic.  So let's hear them!!

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