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Clarksburg Latest to Halt Outdoor Wood FurnacesBy Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
06:48AM / Thursday, September 18, 2008
CLARKSBURG — Town officials have put the kibosh on permits for outdoor wood furnaces — at least until state decides how to regulate them.
The Selectmen last week declared a moratorium on any new installations of the furnaces, known as hydronic heaters. Homeowners can continue to operate existing furnaces for now.
"These furnaces can cost $12,000, $14,000," said Selectman Carl McKinney. "We don't want someone spending that kind of money to put one in and then find out they have to take it out."
Clarksburg is the latest municipality to consider regulating the use of the shedlike furnaces. Adams banned the furnaces last year and North Adams declared a moratorium on their installation until the city could formulate ordinances relating to them.
The boilers burn wood to heat water or anti-freeze that is piped into an existing heating system. The furnaces have raising concerns over air pollution and public health.
 They've exploded in popularity as other fuels, such as natural gas and heating oil, have doubled and tripled in price over recent years. They come in a range of sizes and are priced in the thousands.
But states and municipalities have been cracking down on their use after neighbors have complained of smoke-filled homes and soot. Maine is considering a buy-back program for polluting furnaces.
"As more units have been installed, and installed increasingly in more urban or suburban areas, MassDEP has received many complaints from neighbors of OHH installations about the unhealthy effects of the smoke produced and interference with the use of their property," according to MassDEP in stating the need for regulations.
McKinney and Chairwoman Debra LeFave said the town did not want to discourage residents seeking alternative fuels, but it did want to make sure that public safety issues are addressed.
"But once the [Department of Environmental Protection] comes out with new regulations, we'll have to take them up," said McKinney.
The DEP held a number of hearings through the summer on the furnaces and has produced draft regulations that would limit their use, fuels, setbacks and emissions. The proposals are expected to be completed by Oct. 1, in time for the heating season.
McKinney said the several existing furnaces (the exact number is unknown) would hopefully be able to operate with minor adjustments, if any. "Maybe they'll have to extend their smokestack 20 feet."
For more information on air quality testing on outdoor wood furnaces, see Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management. |
| If wood stoves need to have chimneys at a specific height to get the smoke over houses, these should too. How could these be allowed to be put in in the first place without specs? | | from: reader | on: 09-18-2008 12:00AM
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| I wonder how many of the board are in the pocket of the local oil and gas companies...enact a moratorium, local oil dealers profit, "donate" to your reelection coffers... | | from: Don't Trust Them | on: 09-19-2008 12:00AM
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| The problem is this as quoted by the U.S. EPA: "Current outdoor wood-fired heaters are substantially less efficient and more polluting than other home-heating devices." That pretty much sums it up. An OWB creates on average 72 g/hr of pm 2.5 particulate matter as compared to other forms of heating (even with wood) of: OWB = 72 g/hr Conventional Wood Stove = 18 g/hr EPA Certified Stove = 6 g/hr Oil Furnace = 0.07 g/hr Gas Furnace = 0.04 g/hr Secondly, these DON'T I repeat DON'T save a person money. These cost around at minimum $10,000-$15,000 to purchase and operate before you even throw your first log on the fire. So when someone claims "I can't afford my bills" well they sure could afford $10,000 to buy one of these monstrosities. I know I don't have $10,000 to throw down on anything much less, something like this. Also take into consideration the $2,000 -$5,000 in installation costs that are associated with this. You can easily spend $15,000 before the so-called savings even start. So don't believe the "I'm so poor I can't heat my home" argument because it is all bogus. So in closing would you want this across from your home? Probably not...... | | from: Air Freedom | on: 09-21-2008 12:00AM
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| If you raise the stack on these things you'll have to raise the burning rate to force the smoke out. this will lower the eef. I think they are a bad idea and need to go. | | from: Hot water | on: 09-23-2008 12:00AM
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