Press release from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality:
October is Clean Energy Awareness month and the cooler temperatures have North Carolina homeowners thinking about home heating. Replacing an older wood burning stove with a newer stove or heating appliance is a great way to improve energy efficiency and air quality.
The Division of Air Quality supports the American Lung Association’s North Carolina Woodstove Changeout Program. This program is an opportunity for people who heat with wood to get a new wood stove or heating appliance at a lower cost.
- To be eligible, you must be a resident and homeowner in the counties of Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Mecklenburg or Swain or a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians community in North Carolina.
- Must be currently using a non-EPA certified wood stove (build pre-1990) or fireplace as heating source.
- Vouchers range from $750 for woodstove replacement up to $10,000 for heater/furnace installation for income qualified homeowners.
For more information, visit the American Lung Association at http://www.lung.org/woodstove or call 1-800-548-8252.
The North Carolina Division of Air Quality recognizes the potential health hazards of heating with an old wood stove. Smoke from residential wood stoves and heaters contains pollutants that can worsen indoor and outdoor air quality, and can cause harmful health effects such as bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, or other serious respiratory diseases. Newer stoves use less wood and produce less smoke both indoors and outdoors.
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