HPBA—in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), local governments, and industry partners—supports the development and implementation of wood stove changeout programs.
A wood stove changeout program is a voluntary program initiated at the local, state, or regional level that provides eligible communities incentives to positively impact air quality. Residents of participating communities often receive rebates, low/no interest loans, and/or discounts to replace their old appliances (especially conventional wood stoves) with cleaner-burning, more efficient, EPA-certified wood or pellet stoves and/or gas and electric heating stoves and fireplaces. Today, homeowners enjoy a variety of options for replacing their old stoves, including EPA-certified wood stoves, fireplace inserts, and masonry heaters that are fueled by gas, pellets, corn, and electricity.
Find out if there is a changeout program near you.
Despite cleaner technologies, many are reluctant to remove older uncertified wood stoves and fireplace inserts manufactured and installed before 1992. Pre-1992 wood stoves have limited controls on smoke emissions. In contrast, today’s modern stoves cut emissions by over 70 percent. Installing EPA-certified wood-burning appliances dramatically impacts the indoor and outdoor air quality of communities, and wood stove changeout programs are proven to incentivize investment.
The mission of a wood stove changeout program is to remove old, pre-EPA-certified appliances and replace them with anything cleaner burning. These programs offer incentives to save money, conserve energy, and improve air quality by upgrading from old, dirty wood stoves to cleaner, more efficient EPA-certified products.
Types of Incentives
Exemptions, deductions, credits, rebates and vouchers, and other financial incentives may be provided by state, federal, and local governments or other interested parties. These incentives vary widely by program, but they all work to lower the price of a new hearth product and are an important catalyst for homeowner investment.
Point of Purchase Incentives
Tax Incentives
There are four types of tax incentives at the state—and federal—levels.
This toolkit provides all the “nuts-and-bolts” guidance necessary to build a coalition of key allies and raise public awareness about your changeout program and its mission. The tool kit also provides collateral sample materials that can be used as a model for your program needs.
Do’s and Don’ts
Starting a changeout program doesn’t mean working from scratch. These do’s and don’ts are a collection of best practices observed when administering programs nationwide.
DO
Don’t
Just as every community is unique, so is every changeout program. Although changeouts can take a variety of forms depending on the nature of the coverage area, there are certain qualities that are shared by most successful campaigns. As you begin planning your changeout, the following checklist may be used as a guide to developing an effective program.
A successful changeout is a team effort that has broad-based community support. There are a variety of individuals and groups that share a stake in the benefits of a changeout and can help you make the case for initiating a program in your community.
Your first step is to clearly identify funding to cover program administration and costs associated with stove purchases, installations, and disposal. There are a variety of potential funding sources available at the local, state, and federal levels.
Federal Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) have supplied the bulk of changeout resources over the last decade, which are part of enforcement settlements. Some state and tribal air agencies also have SEP programs.
Changeouts have repeatedly helped policymakers secure funding for emission offset programs.
The bulk of your funding will likely go toward providing financial incentives that play a critical role in ensuring maximum participation by consumers. A two-pronged approach that offers a more generous set of incentives for low-income citizens has become a model approach for motivating people to participate in changeout programs.
1. Community Incentives
2. Additional Incentives for Low-Income Residents
General public awareness is critical to the success of your campaign and will help maximize participation. This effort should begin several months in advance of the changeout so that citizens have heard about it several times through a variety of channels and know how they can get involved.
Elements of a public outreach and education effort typically include the following:
Below are some key messages we’ve found effective when reaching out to community residents. Your agency’s communications department may have thoughts on targeted messaging specific to the community you serve.
Most of the public awareness activities listed here can be done for little or no cost other than staff time and expenses, and they can result in significant exposure for your campaign. HPBA, through its regional affiliate network, can offer assistance in public outreach and education. EPA has provided public outreach and education services to a limited number of wood stove changeouts in the past.
Financial incentives should be accompanied by supporting regulatory mandates designed to maximize the number of households and businesses that participate in the changeout. These regulatory options can include:
Centralized program coordination is an integral part of an effective changeout, and the plan for your campaign should include sufficient staffing, office space, and other resources to ensure a smooth operation. Ideally, there should be one individual in the agency administering the program who serves as the day-to-day coordinator, and that person should have sufficient administrative and management support.
Here are some administrative functions that are part of a wood stove changeout:
The key to effectively managing your program is to have designated staff and an administrative structure in place BEFORE the changeout is underway to avoid missteps and frustrations.
EPA-certified wood-burning hearth products have a label on the back or side that clearly designates that they are approved, whereas non-certified wood stoves do not. Many non-certified stoves also have solid metal doors. To identify homes that are using non-certified stoves, communities use various surveys and research techniques by mail, phone, and online. If utility companies are involved in the program, they may be willing to include a questionnaire and other background materials to help determine which households may be eligible for changeouts.
If the wood stove is certified, the back label will look like the one to the right (source: EPA).
Disposal and recycling of non-EPA-certified appliances are an essential component of a changeout program. When a citizen agrees to do a changeout, the old stove must be surrendered and then rendered inoperable so that it cannot be used again. In order to receive a rebate, retailers or consumers may be required to submit a tracking form that certifies they have completed the disposal and taken the uncertified stove to a recycler. Removing the door is the most common method for disabling an uncertified stove.
A mechanism for stove disposal and recycling should be included in your plan prior to implementation. This involves identifying at least one recycler that is equipped to process the stoves, as well as an area for retailers to temporarily store disabled stoves until they are picked up by the recycler. The Steel Recycling Institute or regional HPBA affiliate can also help in the disposal and recycling of old stoves.
Save time in your hectic schedules by consulting the following templates. We’ve done some legwork on common collateral needed for a successful program so that you—or your colleagues—don’t have to!
Depending on the product, you might be able to claim a U.S. federal tax credit of 30% on your federal tax return for qualifying purchases and installations made between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2032.
You may have noticed that not all of the United States has changeout programs available. Do you want to change that?
Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Senate that would establish a national changeout program fund, helping communities across the U.S. replace older, non-certified wood heaters with cleaner, more efficient EPA-certified heaters. Allow us to contact you with occasional updates.
Here’s what’s included:
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