Please take this wood heat survey

[John Ackerly]

The Alliance for Green Heat and Antioch University of New England are circulating a wood heat survey do learn more about attitudes toward wood heat. There is no commercial purpose behind this survey. Please take 5 minutes to fill it out and feel free to forward it to others. We do not expect it to represent an objective cross section of any population, but will be used, for example, to see possible trends between those who heat with wood and those who don't, between urban and rural views on wood heat, etc. The results will be available in about 5 weeks.

Click here to take the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/B2PKF36

Thanks,

John

 

[fossil]

John, I'm assuming, although you made no mention of it in your post, that you checked with the Webmaster here to be sure that putting up a link in this forum to your survey was OK...? Rick

 

[BrowningBAR]

The Alliance for Green Heat and Antioch University of New England are circulating a wood heat survey do learn more about attitudes toward wood heat. There is no commercial purpose behind this survey. Please take 5 minutes to fill it out and feel free to forward it to others. We do not expect it to represent an objective cross section of any population, but will be used, for example, to see possible trends between those who heat with wood and those who don't, between urban and rural views on wood heat, etc. The results will be available in about 5 weeks.

Click here to take the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/B2PKF36

Thanks,

John

The survey kind of has a negative slant against wood heat. How about you take the time and further explain the point of the survey.

 

[webbie]

It's OK by me.....no big deal. This is a pro biomass group.
Of course, their negative views and opinion toward Hearth.com don't make me happy, but what can you do?
http://www.forgreenheat.org/consumer_resources/reviews.html

 

[fishinpa]

I went to the site that is hostng this survey and the wording is SO incorrect in the first 3 of 4 pages that I stopped going through it. The questions are worded SO wrong, that it MUST be skewed for something offical, probably an "offical" goverment related survey that will get stuck up our arses later for burning cheap solid fuels. (non rediculiously taxed fuels like gas & oill)

QUOTES - IE: Q 3: "Residential wood stoves are a renewable resource?" / Q 4: "Residential wood PELLET stoves are a renewable heat source?" WTF kind of questions are those... wood/pellet stoves do not grow on trees! How are they themselves renewable as the questions ask?

I this really a 'are your smarter than a 5th grader survey' that we all fail just by answering?

Sorry to be a negative-ninny here, but some friggin' idiot wrote the survey questions. Yeah I know I should think of this as 'OK, they really meant that the burning of solid fuel in these stoves is the questions they really meant', but I think I'd be more of an idiot than the person who wrote that questions, if I was to just assume that and anwser them the way they are written. (?)

I apologize to those that may have completed the survey, I am referring to myself.

Am I 100% wrong here for thinking this way??

 

[BrowningBAR]

I went to the site that is hostng this survey and the wording is SO incorrect in the first 3 of 4 pages that I stopped going through it. The questions are worded SO wrong, that it MUST be skewed for something offical, probably an "offical" goverment related survey that will get stuck up our arses later for burning cheap solid fuels. (non rediculiously taxed fuel)

QUOTES - IE: Q 3: "Residential wood stoves are a renewable resource?" / Q 4: "Residential wood PELLET stoves are a renewable heat source?" WTF kind of questions are those... wood/pellet stoves do not grow on trees! How are they themselves renewable as the questions ask?

I this really a 'are your smarter than a 5th grader survey' that we all fail just by answering?

Sorry to be a negative-ninny here, but some friggin' idiot wrote the survey questions. Yeah I know I should think of this as 'OK, they really meant that the burning of solid fuel in these stoves is the questions they really meant', but I think I'd be more of an idiot than the person who wrote that questions, if I was to just assume that and anser them the way they are written. (?)

I apologize to those that may have completed the survey, I am referring to myself.

Am I 100% wrong here for thinking this way??

I think you might be taking the questions a bit too literally, but it did seem to have an anti-wood slant.

 

[webbie]

Oh, well, asking us about wood heat is like asking folks at a duck hunt about gun regulations.
:coolsmile:

 

[JustWood]

Eye'd like to know who the monkeyphuq was who couldn't navigate this site. Prolly someone who couldn't push a 2lb mouse! :coolsmile:

 

[fishinpa]

Eye'd like to know who the monkeyphuq was who couldn't navigate this site. Prolly someone who couldn't push a 2lb mouse! :coolsmile:

I don't understand this reply.. I didn't see anyone who said they could not navigate.....

PS: A 2lb mouse would be a rat , yeah?

 

[BrotherBart]

Eye'd like to know who the monkeyphuq was who couldn't navigate this site. Prolly someone who couldn't push a 2lb mouse! :coolsmile:

I don't understand this reply.. I didn't see anyone who said they could not navigate.....

PS: A 2lb mouse would be a rat , yeah?

Look at the website reviews on the guy's website. He thinks hearth.com is hard to navigate around.

 

[fishinpa]

Eye'd like to know who the monkeyphuq was who couldn't navigate this site. Prolly someone who couldn't push a 2lb mouse! :coolsmile:

I don't understand this reply.. I didn't see anyone who said they could not navigate.....

PS: A 2lb mouse would be a rat , yeah?

Look at the website reviews on the guy's website. He thinks hearth.com is hard to navigate around.

Aahh, got it. I personally think the 'hearth.com' home page is a bit antiquated and setup my links to take me directly to the 'forum' home page. Maybe that is what he was referring to....

Once you get to the forums 'home' page, it's about one of the best organized and 'be kind to you brother' forums I've had he pleasure to run across.

 

[jeff_t]

Thought 2lb'ers were for lunch.

 

[begreen]

Burp. I'd need a serious siesta after a 2 lb'er.

 

[dvellone]

Can somebody help me find the Wood Shed?

 

[daleeper]

I found the question on your opinion of the ranking of fuels as pollutants interesting. The perception of what fuels are most polluting and which ones in fact are most polluting I'll bet are quiet different, and quite frankly, I have opinions, but don't really know, not sure anyone has the full and correct answer on that.

Some questions very poorly worded, and the buttons on one either didn't work right, or I didn't understand how to properly answer it. (reasons why I would not install stove)

I would be interested in the results, but no way was I going to give them my email address.

 

[firefighterjake]

I did the survey . . . but this was not a very well written survey.

Some examples:

One question asks how I heat my home . . . it does not say how do I primarily heat my home . . . so does one put down they use a woodstove . . . even if I also have an oil boiler that kicks on occasionally in the winter . . . or does one check the __ other option . . . and then write down that they mostly heat with wood, but use oil for back up.

Another question asks if I am a state or federal employee . . . I am assuming they don't care that I am a city employee . . . but wonder what they will think when they see my .gov e-mail address.

I think the question that most galled me was the one asking about what pollutes most . . . again . . . a question that is somewhat ambiguous . . . one choice lists woodstoves . . . too many variables here . . . are we talking about non-EPA stoves or EPA stoves . . . another choice lists electricity . . . which at face value for the homeowner has zero emissions . . . but if you trace back the electricity to the source where it was generated you may find a coal plant or a generator being fueled by diesel.

 

[webbie]

Surveys are very hard to make - and even harder to present to a special audience like hearth.com

We just put together a local survey for our town for the new Master Plan, and it was difficult to word the questions. I finally gave up on some!

But on others, I made certain to mention cause and effect.....as jake mentions with electricity.

For instance, I changed a section about whether you want more police, firefighters or other services to:

1. Which of the following services would you be willing to pay increased taxes for?

That, of course, puts things in their proper light!

 

[firefighterjake]

Surveys are very hard to make - and even harder to present to a special audience like hearth.com

We just put together a local survey for our town for the new Master Plan, and it was difficult to word the questions. I finally gave up on some!

But on others, I made certain to mention cause and effect.....as jake mentions with electricity.

For instance, I changed a section about whether you want more police, firefighters or other services to:

1. Which of the following services would you be willing to pay increased taxes for?

That, of course, puts things in their proper light!

I vote to keep the firefighters employed.

 

[firefighterjake]

OK, I had to check out the Alliance . . . and one of the sites they recommended as the best . . . I'm not sure what type of smoke they've been breathing in, but it certainly isn't from woodpellets or firewood . . .

Hearth.com is "clunky" and hard to navigate . . . their most highly recommended site was antiquated looking and when I looked at their stove review section I only found two pages . . . and only a very few manufacturers listed . . . never did find my beloved Oslo listed . . . and this is one of Jotul's most popular stoves.

Nah, I don't care what the Alliance says about your site Craig . . . I think I'll stick around this clunky and hard to navigate site . . . it's a lot more informative.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

It's OK by me.....no big deal. This is a pro biomass group.
Of course, their negative views and opinion toward Hearth.com don't make me happy, but what can you do?
http://www.forgreenheat.org/consumer_resources/reviews.html

It appears though, that he/they are talking about "websites currently providing wood and pellet stove reviews".

I may be wrong but that is not the focus of this community. While there are plenty of owner reviews/stories/rants/etc here, most of what (I at least) take away is all the information I need to actually install, and use and maintain my stove. I frankly and honestly didn't look here for a moment for reviews of the stoves I was interested in. I came here for the knowledge of how to use it best. I have/had been to all the sites they mention, and others, this one is where I made an account. (good or bad for the rest of the community..lol)

 

[REF1]

I completely fail to see how Wise Heat is better than this site. Their wood stove category is sorely lacking. They have nowhere near the reviews of stoves this site has. And just because a web site is older doesn't make it difficult to navigate. "Clunky?"

 

[Fsappo]

I did the survey. It seemed like something a 6th grader would develop and publish without a single soul to proof read, edit, test, etc.

 

[PapaDave]

Went to the Alliance page, and got the impression that these folks cater to those who need hand holding to get through their day, let alone burn wood.

 

[John Ackerly]

Yes, the survey has some sloppy wording and we're talking a healthy amount of flack from both the pro and anti-wood burning camps on it. Also getting lots of good feedback. The survey doesn't have a specific purpose. We wanted to to reach people outside the wood burning community and make them think a bit more about the issues. Craig, I didn't realize I should check with you before posting a link like this, but will do so in future. And want to clear up any impression that Alliance for Green Heat has negative views and opinions about hearth.com. A researcher here wrote that Hearth.com is hard to navigate for purposes of stoves reviews and concluded another site was better.

Anyway, the Alliance for Green Heat was established to bring together the wood burning community, environmentalists, health professionals, foresters, and policy makers to promote cleaner and more efficient wood heat. We work at the federal, state and county level to push for more acceptance of biomass appliances in renewable energy programs. We worked with the non-profit energy efficiency groups in Washington to get biomass appliances in Home Star which will mean a $1,000 rebate on top of the 30% federal tax credit, if it gets passed. We also join in fights to restrict unregulated outdoor wood boilers. We're trying to make the case in Pennsylvania now, that in addition to only requiring Phase 2 OWBs, they should also give a tax credit for clean biomass appliances, instead of just giving tens of thousands to wealthy families that can afford solar panels. Right now in America, millions upon millions of our tax dollars are going to the wealthiest families to install solar panels while low income families that want to install ultra-clean biomass get next to nothing. We want to see a comeback of wood heat because we think its generally as climate neutral as other renewables, and its 10 times cheaper. We are a small non-profit trying to make a big dent in Washington. Its still an ongoing experiment.

 

[John Ackerly]

Meant to say in previous post that the survey was designed for folks within and outside wood burning community. Probably the most frequent response we got is: "what is a pellet stove?" That may give some insight into the challenges of writing a survey for a wider audience.