I am planning a gasifier system with at least 1000 gallons of storage for my new home here in Juneau, AK. I am also the facility planner for the Coast Guard here in Alaska, and one of our engineers launched a feasibility study for biomass fueled boilers in four sites in Southeast Alaska. One of those sites just happens to be Juneau. 
One of the things I am dealing with is an actual EPA defined smoke hazard area here in Juneau, AK. If the air quality drops, all wood burning appliances, with the exception of pellet stoves, are banned from operation. It is my understanding that the local authorities are responsible for enforcing the ban, and that the EPA did not define what type of stoves are banned from operation. I have read numerous threads on the new guidelines for EPA certification of stoves. The ban does apply to EPA certified stoves. Only pellet stoves are exempt.
I have to believe that we are not unique from this type of legislation, and that this is an issue that some of you have dealt with before. Have any of you successfully gotten permission to operate your system when air quality restrictions were in place?
And for the dealer/manufacturer's out there, It is my understanding that pellet stoves are excluded from the ban by our local borough, because they are inherently clean burning. How do the particulate emmissions from a properly adjusted gasifire stove compare to a properly operating pellet stove? Do you think I could build a case for an exception for them, or have any of you seen a community that has allowed an exception for gasifier stoves?
Obviously this puts a damper on any designs for using the stove as the sole source of heat for the home. The local building codes state that in fact. I will be installing electric elements in my storage tank for heat when and if I am unable to burn wood. The silver lining here is that there is a program with the local electric utility for off peak electric rates specifically designed for heat storage systems. I will be able to get electricity at a significantly reduced rate in the evenings.
One of the things I am dealing with is an actual EPA defined smoke hazard area here in Juneau, AK. If the air quality drops, all wood burning appliances, with the exception of pellet stoves, are banned from operation. It is my understanding that the local authorities are responsible for enforcing the ban, and that the EPA did not define what type of stoves are banned from operation. I have read numerous threads on the new guidelines for EPA certification of stoves. The ban does apply to EPA certified stoves. Only pellet stoves are exempt.
I have to believe that we are not unique from this type of legislation, and that this is an issue that some of you have dealt with before. Have any of you successfully gotten permission to operate your system when air quality restrictions were in place?
And for the dealer/manufacturer's out there, It is my understanding that pellet stoves are excluded from the ban by our local borough, because they are inherently clean burning. How do the particulate emmissions from a properly adjusted gasifire stove compare to a properly operating pellet stove? Do you think I could build a case for an exception for them, or have any of you seen a community that has allowed an exception for gasifier stoves?
Obviously this puts a damper on any designs for using the stove as the sole source of heat for the home. The local building codes state that in fact. I will be installing electric elements in my storage tank for heat when and if I am unable to burn wood. The silver lining here is that there is a program with the local electric utility for off peak electric rates specifically designed for heat storage systems. I will be able to get electricity at a significantly reduced rate in the evenings.
