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Basic Information
If your wood stove is certified, the back label and hang tag will look like the ones above.
More examples of EPA labels.
Cleaner Burning Choices
- Wood Stoves
- Pellet Stoves
- Gas Stoves
- Fireplace Inserts
- Decorative Gas Logs
- Masonry Heaters
- Burn Cleaner, Save Money and Energy
- Finding the Right Size and Model
| You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as a free download, to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader. |
Wood Stoves
The traditional pot-bellied stove is a thing of the past - today’s wood stove models feature improved safety and efficiency. They produce almost no smoke, minimal ash, and require less firewood, They can be sized to heat a family room, a small cottage, or a full-sized home. The best choices are appliances labeled by the Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (ULC) or another testing and certification body for safety. They should also be certified to be low-emission according to EPA standards. While older uncertified stoves and fireplaces release 40 to 60 grams of smoke per hour; new EPA-certified stoves produce only 2 to 5 grams of smoke per hour. For technical details on wood stoves, see Technical Information.
EPA certified wood stoves burn more cleanly and efficiently, save you money, reduce the risk of fire, and improve air quality inside and outside your home. Check the current list of EPA-certified wood stoves (PDF). (111 pp, 2.0 MB)
EPA certified wood stoves come in different sizes:
- Small stoves are suitable for heating a family room or a seasonal cottage. For larger homes with older central furnaces, consider "zone heating" a specific area of your home (family or living room) with a small stove. This can reduce fuel consumption, conserve energy and save you dollars while maintaining comfort.
- Medium stoves are suitable for heating small houses, medium-sized energy-efficient houses, and cottages used in winter.
- Large stoves are suitable for larger, open plan houses or older, leakier houses in colder climate zones.
Talk with experienced wood stove retailers who know the performance characteristics of the products they sell. When visiting local retailers, take along a floor plan of your home. Knowledgeable retailers can help you find a wood stove that is well suited to the space you want to heat.
Pellet Stoves
Instead of logs, pellet stoves burn a renewable fuel made of ground, dried
wood and other biomass wastes compressed into pellets. They are some
of the cleanest-burning heating appliances available today and deliver
high overall
efficiency. Because they pollute so little, pellet stoves do not require
EPA certification; some manufacturers, however, voluntarily seek this
certification. Unlike wood stoves and fireplaces, most pellet stoves
need electricity to
operate, and can be easily vented through a wall, unlike log-burning
stoves. For more technical details on pellet stoves, see
Don Vandervort's
hometips.com. 
Gas Stoves
Gas stoves are designed to burn either natural gas or propane. They emit
very little pollution, require little maintenance, and can be installed
almost anywhere in the home. Today’s gas stoves feature large, dancing
yellow flames and glowing red embers that are nearly identical in appearance
to
a wood fire. They can be vented through an existing chimney, or direct
vented through the wall behind the stove. While some models do not
require outside venting, EPA does not support their use due to indoor
air quality concerns. For more information, see the
Hearth, Patio,
and Barbecue Association Fact Sheet on Gas Stoves (PDF). (2 pp, 1.2 MB)
Fireplace Inserts
If you rely on your fireplace for added warmth on cold days, consider a fireplace insert. They are similar in function and performance to free-standing stoves, but are designed to be installed within the firebox of an existing masonry or meal fireplace. Municipal installation codes now require that a properly sized stainless-steel liner be installed from the insert flue collar to the top of the chimney. The result is better performance and a safer system. You can choose from inserts that burn wood, pellets, or gas that provide the same safe efficiency as their stove counterparts. EPA certified wood and pellet burning inserts are available. Some fireplace inserts include state-of-the-art features such as fans and thermostatic controls (depending on the fuel). For more information, see More Efficient, Cleaner Burning Fireplaces.
Decorative Fireplace Gas Logs
If you have an existing fireplace but seldom use it – or use it more
for aesthetics than heating, you may want to consider installing a
set of decorative gas logs. While not designed to be a significant
source of heat,
decorative logs provide dramatic realism, from the lifelike ceramic
fiber, concrete or refractory logs down to the glowing embers. Because
they burn
either natural gas or propane, they also have low emissions. For more
information see the
Hearth, Patio,
and Barbecue Association Fact Sheet on Gas Logs (PDF). (2 pp, 1.5 MB)
Masonry Heaters
Many Americans are not familiar with masonry heaters, but versions of these
wood-burning devices have been used in Europe for centuries. A masonry
heater is a site-built or site-assembled solid-fueled heating device, consisting
of a firebox, a large masonry mass, and a maze of heat exchange channels.
While it may look like a fireplace, a masonry heater works differently.
It
stores heat from rapidly-burning fires within its masonry structure,
and slowly releases the heat into the home throughout the day. Masonry heaters
currently do not require EPA certification; however, since their fires
are
small and burn hot, they produce far less smoke than a fireplace or
non-certified wood stove - yet the heater's surface remains warm to the touch.
The Masonry
Heater Association of North America can
provide you with more information on masonry heaters and installers
near your area.
Burn Cleaner, Save Money and Energy
Cleaner burning hearth devices can reduce your energy bill, in addition to protecting your health. The Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association has developed a cost-effectiveness calculator (http://www.hpba.org/hpba1/effcalc.cfm) to show how various cleaner-burning stoves and fireplace inserts can actually save you money (Note: EPA cannot support the use of non-vented gas stoves or fireplace inserts due to indoor air quality concerns). You can compare the cost of heating your home with wood, electricity, natural gas, oil, or coal. You can also see how using a cleaner burning hearth device to supplement your existing heating system can reduce your overall home heating cost.
Finding the Right Size and Model—Talk to a Professional
Wood stoves come in different sizes:
- Small stoves are suitable for heating a family room or a seasonal cottage. In larger homes with older central furnaces, you can use a small stove for "zone heating" a specific area of your home (family or living room). This can reduce fuel consumption, conserve energy and save you dollars while maintaining comfort.
- Medium stoves are suitable for heating small houses, medium-sized energy-efficient houses, and cottages used in winter.
- Large stoves are suitable for larger, open plan houses or older, leakier houses in colder climate zones.
In addition, fireplace inserts also come in various sizes.
Talk with experienced hearth product retailers who know the performance characteristics of the products they sell. When visiting local retailers, take along a floor plan of your home. Knowledgable retailers can help you find a wood stove, fireplace insert, or other hearth product that is well suited to the space you want to heat.
To find retailers of EPA certified wood stoves, fireplace inserts, and other
hearth products near you, use
The Hearth, Patio and
Barbecue Association store locator or
consult the Yellow Pages.