Biomass Stoves

Ed Del Grande reviews biomass stoves, which burn wood or corn pellets.

Ed Del Grande: Included in the new stimulus package is a nice 30% tax credit for "Biomass" stoves with efficiency ratings of at least at 75%. Now, even though the tax incentive caps sorted around $1,500, this is still a good chunk of change and has created quite the stir in the biomass world. This may raise the question, Ed, what exactly is a biomass stove? Well, we need to start off explaining what biomass fuel is, since that's what a biomass stove burns. Biomass fuels differ from fossil fuels in that they are an easily renewable, cheaper and natural resource. But, in reality all fossil fuels started out as biomass fuels. Organic molecules were transferred and transformed by time and pressure into fuels like oil, gas and coal. With fossil fuels, what we have is what we have, and they tend to be on the pricey side. Wood is a biomass fuel because it's made from trees, we can grow new trees. A matter of fact, the first biomass stoves that came out about twenty years ago, were fueled by, guess what? Wood pellets. So, there it is. Basically a biomass stove is what we used to call a Pellet stove, but now they have a new environmentally friendly name. Now, I'm joking a bit, but in all fairness, I must say the new Biomass stoves on today's market are very efficient and well made. Over the years they have developed into high-tech self-feeding models, with push button starting, and even automatic ash removal from the fire chamber. Many stoves can now burn other bio fuels besides wood pellets. If set up properly, new stoves can burn corn pellets, even waste biomass fuels like cherry pits. However, keep this in mind. If anyone out there knows where I can get a truck load of olive pits in the middle of a cold New England winter, please let me know. Commonsense tells me to set the stove up for wood or corn pellets, because in many areas they may be easier to get when demand is high. But, check with your distributor for more information. Bottom line, like the saying goes, what's old is new again, and with the current new tax credits, it maybe worthwhile to take a good look at the new pellet -- I am sorry, excuse me, the new biomass stoves available in your area. I am Ed Del Grande with my commonsense guide for HGTVPro.com.