EPA efficiency????

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co370

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Oct 11, 2009
5
NJ
ok.. where do i start... i am new to burning and to the site.. thanks for being patient with me.. i just installed a used Earth Stove 1003c.. my users manual states it is 72% efficient.. does this mean i am just short of the 30% tax rebate on EPA stoves of 75% or higher... or am i not understanding something... if this is the case.. is there anything to give that 3% of additional "efficiency" to get the rebate>?


thanks john
 
I don't think that there is anything the consumer does to effect the efficiency for eligibility. I is something that has to be stated by the manufacturer and probably verified via independent testing. Maybe some one else has a better grasp on this and will weigh in. By the time I got my boiler in ('06) and applied for my rebate it turned out to be less of a tax break than advertised because the gov't (congress) hadn't really set the actual percentages into policy.
 
Not that I would advocate fraud, (I'm told) you do not have to turn in any paperwork pertaining to the stove efficiency, just something you need to keep on file
 
It's only applicable if that exact same model is still being made and it has been approved for the credit.
 
wendell said:
.... and it has been approved for the credit.

And some MFG websites have a form that can be printed out IF the stove is one of the approved ones. Not all are.
 
Werm said:
Not that I would advocate fraud, (I'm told) you do not have to turn in any paperwork pertaining to the stove efficiency, just something you need to keep on file

You can write off anything you want. The question is will it stand up if you are audited.
 
co370 said:
ok.. where do i start... i am new to burning and to the site.. thanks for being patient with me.. i just installed a used Earth Stove 1003c.. my users manual states it is 72% efficient.. does this mean i am just short of the 30% tax rebate on EPA stoves of 75% or higher... or am i not understanding something... if this is the case.. is there anything to give that 3% of additional "efficiency" to get the rebate>?


thanks john

Hi John,

The 1003c is an older model from Earth Stove, and it's going to be very difficult to find a way to prove it's 75% efficient. It is my understanding that a lot of the stoves that now qualify were rated at less than 75% just last year, but then they were re-tested by the manufacturers in order to jump on the tax credit bandwagon. It seems that the original testing wasn't all that rigorous because back then the difference between 73% and 75% wasn't that big a deal--now it is. Earth Stove is still in business but they got bought out by Lennox, and I doubt that Lennox has any interest in re-testing the older Earth Stoves--though it's certainly worth a call to them to check it out.

NP
 
As others have said, the way to meet the requirements for the tax credit is a stove is tested by the manufacturer according to some sort of EPA-approved testing procedure, and the manufacturer certifies that the stove is at least 75% efficient. It has nothing to do with how you actually use the stove. You can buy a certified stove, burn fresh cut swamp willow all winter, and still get the tax credit.
 
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