Zucchini and Bailey warm themselves near a high-efficiency wood stove. (Provided)

As part of Vermont’s Clean Energy Development Fund, wood stoves across the state are getting much-needed attention. Along with a slew of other programs for changing to safer and more efficient systems such as wood and biodiesel heating, a wood stove change out and repairs incentive program is making the process more affordable. The program is available to help cover the costs of replacing older and inefficient appliances with advanced EPA certified wood and pellet stoves. The program is also meant to help with related repairs to ensure the systems meet Vermont’s Fire & Building Safety Codes.

Local companies are part of the program as participating stove retailers and installers, such as Paul Bianco from Chimney Savers in Randolph.

“We see a lot of stoves everyday that are 30 or 40 years old and back when those stoves were installed and manufactured there were no EPA standards, so they actually put off a lot of emissions, so this is a way to get those stoves out of use,” Bianco said.

The incentive program provides up to $10,000 total, with $6,000 to replace stoves and $4,000 for repairs and are broken down by income level. Those in the designated low-income level, with less than 80% of the area median income, may be provided with 80% of installation cost, up to $6,000 for a stove, and up to $10,000 with repairs. Folks in a moderate income level, from 81% to 120% of the area median income, may be provided with 60% of installation cost with the same limits as the first incentive level.

“It’s making it easier for people to be able to afford a new stove and chimney system,” Bianco said.

Environmental And Safety Impacts

“If you have an efficiently working stove, when you look at the top of the chimney, you surely shouldn’t be seeing smoke, you should be seeing a heat signature, like what we see on a road that’s warming up,” Bianco said.

He approximates that about 40% of the stoves Chimney Savers services are not EPA certified.

“You don’t want to be breathing in that smoke and that’s what they’re trying to eliminate with the EPA standards,” he said.

Outdated stoves pose issues for increased emissions, health, and safety. Chimney damage and creosote build up can cause chimney fires which can spread to the rest of the house.

“It’s a real safety upgrade to upgrade the stove and do any repairs to the chimney,” he went on.

“By doing programs like this we can make sure that as a wood-burning industry, or a wood-burning state, we don’t get shut down from being able to burn wood in our homes and if stuff like this doesn’t happen that could be a possibility,” Bianco added.

Enrolling

The steps to enroll in the wood-stove change out and repairs incentive program include income qualification, chimney assessment, participation agreement between customer and repair company, which explains what the old stove was and what the new stove will be, correspondence with the Renewable Energy Resource Center.

Vincent Freeman, of the Underground Recording Studio in Randolph, opted into the incentive program for his home wood-stove and chimney system.

Freeman said he purchased his 1970s-era Vermont Castings stove second-hand for about $300 and it was already cracked when he got it. The combination of age and condition didn’t bode well for its efficiency.

“Chimney Savers did the preliminary look at whether or not my equipment qualifies,” he said. The wood stove qualified because of its age and condition, the chimney qualified as well.

Freeman then submitted an application form to the Renewable Energy Resource Center (RERC) for review with details about his equipment. A third-party completes income verification. Then the RERC approved the incentive.

“The people who are working on the other side of this program they are great to work with,” Bianco said from the retailer-installer perspective.

“We get immediate responses with any questions we have and we’re always here in the office to answer any questions.”

“All of that only took a few weeks and was very easy to do,” Freeman said about the application process. “It was actually fairly simple.”

With installation scheduled for early March, the process is taking about a month. The whole project comes up to just around $10,000; the outof pocket costs total $2,000.

“Some of the other perks of this program that are so great are that it’s not a rebate,” Bianco said, “whatever you qualify for is coming right off the top of it.”

The retailer-installer is reimbursed by the State of Vermont via the Clean Energy Development Fund after the project is completed.

“I was just excited that this program exists and it’s great that it covers extra chimney work. I think that’s definitely a benefit that they packed that into this incentive,” Freeman said.

“When we go in we’ve had amazing feedback,” Bianco added, “for me its nice to help people use their appliances safely and heat their houses safely.”