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Wood Fireplaces: What does "EPA Exempt" mean?
Q:I am looking at high-efficiency zero-clearance wood stoves and have run across one (Napoleon NZ6000) that, rather than claiming to be
EPA-phase II approved, states that it is "EPA certification exempt."
What does this mean?
One dealer told me it was because the product was manufactured in Canada, but I suspect this is wrong as another similar product (NZ26) in the
same line is EPA-approved.
Is it because the product is not a true wood stove?
Does the exemption imply that the efficiency does not meet EPA standards?
Thanks for any help you can provide. No one seems to know the straight answer, and I cannot find it online.
Sherwood
A: The Napoleon NZ6000 is not exempt from EPA regulations because it is made in Canada. All products sold in the US are subject to EPA
regulations, regardless of where they're built. However, the EPA regulations do allow for exemptions (wood-burners not required to meet today's
strict particulate emissions standards).
Exempted products include wood furnaces and cookstoves, as well as non-airtight fireplaces. To qualify for the non-airtight fireplace exemption, a
fireplace must meet the EPA's definition, which requires a constant air-fuel ratio inside the firebox of at least 35-1. To maintain this ratio, the
fireplace must allow a virtual free flow of air into the firebox. This airflow carries up to 90% of the heat from the fire up the flue, which is why
exempted fireplaces tend to fall into the "just for looks" category.
So, if exempted fireplaces are just for looks, why does Napoleon seem to be presenting the NZ6000 as heater, producing up to 60,000 btu/hr? In a
word, marketing. The NZ6000's 4.8 cu.ft. firebox holds nearly 100 lbs. of wood, and a raging hardwood fire of that size can produce a lot of heat:
enough to provide meaningful warmth into the room despite the tremendous heat loss out the flue caused by the non-airtight design. The capability
of providing up to 60,000 btu into the room from a 100 lb. load is actually not bad, for an exempted, non-airtight fireplace, but is a far cry from
efficient wood heating. To put this in perspective, the airtight, EPA Approved Bis Ultima fireplace's 2 cu.ft. firebox holds just 40 lbs. of fuel, yet
produces nearly the same heat as the NZ6000, up to 55,000 btu/hr (to read more, click here).
The NZ6000 does allow some control of the fire, inside the 35-1 air/fuel requirements. Napoleon's literature states that they were able to achieve a
14-hour burn, which might imply that the NZ6000 has an airtight firebox, but that is not the case. Burn time figures can be misleading: a
manufacturer can use a solid block of hardwood that completely fills the firebox for this test, and if any hot coals can be raked out of the ashes 14
hours later, the brochure can advertise a 14 hour burn. And you can bet that the advertised 60,000 btu maximum output was NOT achieved during
the burn time test: note the "regular refueling" Napoleon mentions in the fine print linked to their heat output claim.
The bottom line? If you're looking for a fireplace with a big view of the raging fire, and want to get at least some meaningful heat from your 100-lb
loads of wood, the NZ6000 is worth a look. If your goal is to heat your house with wood, an EPA approved airtight fireplace would save you much
fuelwood, and be much kinder to the environment.
To read the actual text of the wood stove emissions regulations on the EPA's website, click here.
To view the EPA's list of exempt wood-burners, click here.
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