Free workshop teaches smart burning tips
KELOWNA – Get the most from your wood burning fireplace, insert or wood stove by attending a free Wood Heating Workshop.
It’s being held Wednesday, April 8th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan in Mission Creek Regional Park, Springfield and Durnin Roads. A Wood heating specialist will be on hand to discuss how to burn safer, cleaner and more efficiently and answer any questions you may have.
Register to save your free space by emailing airquality@kelowna.ca or calling the Regional Air Quality Coordinator at 250-469-8408. All those who pre-register will receive a free gift.
This informative evening will also provide tips on safely installing wood stoves, firewood and wood heat options, how to burn without smoke, maintaining your wood heating chimney safety and understanding EPA and Emission ratings.
The evening event is part of the ‘Wood Stove Exchange Program’ in the Central Okanagan. As an incentive wood heat users who trade in their old smoker for new, EPA/CSA certified cleaner burning appliance can take advantage of a $250 rebate as well as a discount of at least $150 by participating retailers. For those wanting to exchange their old wood burning stove or insert for a gas appliance, Fortis BC is offering an additional $300 rebate for eligible EnerChoice gas fireplaces.
Regional Air Quality Program Coordinator Nancy Mora Castro says, “During the fall and winter months, it’s not unusual for Central Okanagan residents to use a wood stove, wood furnace or fireplace for heating. Many people don’t realize that a properly burning wood fire does not smoke. If you see smoke coming from your chimney, it is a sign that either your wood appliance is not burning efficiently or you may need to change the way you manage your fire. Wood smoke is air pollution and knowing how to burn properly helps keep our air clean, is safer and can reduce the amount of firewood needed.”
She adds, “There are so many advantages with the new technology stoves. They use one-third less firewood and are safer because they produce less creosote which helps reduce the risk of a chimney fire. And with less smoke, our local air quality is improved and that’s good for everyone.”
The Workshop and Wood Stove Exchange Program are initiatives of the Regional District of Central Okanagan Air Quality Program and are funded in part through a grant from the Province of B.C. and B.C. Lung Association. For more information visit: regionaldistrict.com/airquality.
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8 responses
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Please stop with this nasty wood burning already…are you gonna teach them how to survive in a cave too? Geez…
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A Sell-Out to the Wood Stove Industry? http://www.familiesforcleanair.org/the-epas-rules-for-new-residential-wood-stoves-a-sell-out-to-the-wood-stove-industry/
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I would like to see the studies that support such a program. In my 8 years as a wood smoke activist I have never seen studies that say this can be done. What a disgrace to promote such a nasty source of air pollutuion. Shame! Shame! Shame!
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If you buy a today’s Wood Stove you are getting old tech junk. But hey great way for Company’s to off load old stock and all the free advertising from Gov pretty smart, but at the expense of health. “Unfortunately, the EPA gave the industry five years to produce the stoves and heaters meeting the stronger limits, an unusually long phase in time. With such a long delay before the cleaner units become fully in the market, many families seeking cleaner units will buy devices that produce far more dangerous air pollution than necessary.” http://t.co/qTJTaU8Eno.
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The program sucks because there is no way to burn wood cleanly at all. WOOD SHOULD NOT BE BURNT IN KAMLOOPS or anywhere else.This is what real education about wood burning should consist of:The Energy Pyramid and what fuels are dirtier than others: http://burningissues.org/car-www/science/Energy-ladder.htmlHere is a list of chemicals found in wood smoke: http://burningissues.org/car-www/science/table2.htmHere are the diseases woodsmoke causes: http://burningissues.org/car-www/medical_effects/index.htmlAnd hence wood burning should be banned.,
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If you live in a crowded area that has gas, just flip the switch and be considerate to neighbors. If gas is too expensive, wear layers of clothes and turn the heat down to 65F. With global warming houses if anything need to be cooled down!
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I attended the “Burn It Smart” workshop at the Civic Centre for the 2009 Wood Stove Exchange Program sponsored by the Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable (PGAIR) and various other organizations concerned about air quality. It was a useful and informative session, well-planned and very deserving of congratulations.I soon learned how burning wood properly is very complicated and expensive. Proper wood burning needs good equipment and has to satisfy a detailed set of regulations. The wood itself must be properly seasoned and stored so that the moisture content becomes less than 20%. There are vast differences between smoke production at various temperatures and a fire needs as much care as a pet.The difference between natural gas and wood is tremendous. A wood burner must be hard-working and conscientious to do things right. It seems almost impossible to burn wood properly without a lot of expertise. Any fool can light a match!The only thing that I disagree with is that wood fuel is somehow free. Wood may seem free to the user but it is not free to the community. The health costs of particulate are long term and very expensive. I cannot see how any wood burner could continue upon realizing the hidden costs to others and the effort required to burn according to law.
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The average EPA-certified stove emits as much PM2.5 (the most health-hazardous air pollutant linked to strokes, heart attacks, lung diseases and cancers) per year as 2,200 passenger cars http://woodsmoke.3sc.net/woodheater-car-comparison#USEPA.Replacing old smokers with new smokers will result in unhealthy pollution for decades to come.Far better to follow the advice of the American Lung Association who “strongly recommends using cleaner, less toxic sources of heat. Converting a wood-burning fireplace or stove to use either natural gas or propane will eliminate exposure to the dangerous toxins wood burning generates including dioxin, arsenic and formaldehyde” see http://www.lungusa.org/press-room/press-releases/cleaner-alternatives-for-winter-heat.html.
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