New stoves burn wood efficiently

Re: “Emission bylaw deadline turns up the heat on city’s fireplace owners” (Montreal Gazette, Jan. 4)

It is important to note that Montreal is not banning wood stove use other than during smog alert days, but is directing residents to use the cleanest available wood stove technology.

Perhaps more important, the politicians and bureaucrats who devised this bylaw have made the sensible decision to allow wood stoves of any type to be used when there is a power outage — such as the one that left a quarter of a million Montreal residents in the dark in late October 2017 and even more during the Ice Storm of 1998.

As the voice of the Canadian wood heat industry, HPBAC educates consumers about the best practices of wood burning and supports change-out programs to replace older, inefficient wood-burning stoves, ensuring local economies receive a n economic boost while helping to combat climate change.

Trading up to an EPA-certified heater is a good idea. Modern high-efficiency stoves require 30 to 50 per cent less wood to generate similar heat output and produce up to 95 per cent fewer emissions than older units.

However, the fuel you use is key to clean burning. Dry, seasoned wood burns cleanest and generates more heat, which results in significant cost savings over the winter. Laura Litchfield, HPBAC executive director, Port Sydney, Ont.