Residential Heater Program Could Help FNSB Improve Air Quality

The Alaska Center for Energy and Power is conducting an electric thermal storage heater field study that will take place over three years in North Pole, Alaska. The goal of the study is to learn whether electric thermal storage heaters, a type of supplementary heating appliance, can help reduce home heating costs and improve air quality, especially by reducing airborne particulate matter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller in diameter.

Burning wood for home heating is currently the largest source of PM2.5 in the borough. But burning wood is often cheaper than using heating fuel oil. This puts many households in the difficult position of choosing between healthy air quality and more affordable home heating. An electric thermal storage heater is a type of supplementary heating appliance, and these could help reduce PM2.5 if households use them to displace a portion of their wood heat.

Find out more about the program at acep.uaf.edu/etsh.

 

ACEP's Alana Vilagi shows the ceramic bricks inside an electric thermal storage heater. Fifty of these ETSH stoves will be installed in homes in the North Pole area to help reduce PM2.5 caused by wood smoke. Photo by Amanda Byrd.