Residential biomass furnaces and stoves are an alternative to heating oil furnaces or electric systems; they burn renewable materials like wood, wood pellets, corn, or nutshells. Biomass is a renewable energy source because the carbon dioxide emitted when it is burned can be recaptured if the biological source used is replanted. Depending on home size and layout, free-standing biomass stoves can provide all of a home’s heating needs or supplement traditional heating systems. Biomass furnaces and boilers are designed to replace traditional furnaces.

The Maryland Energy Administration’s (MEA) Clean Burning Wood Stove Grant Program offers $400 grants for approved wood-burning stoves and $600 for approved pellet-burning stoves. A wide variety of stove and furnace options are available; enter “biomass stove” or “biomass furnace” into your internet browser to review products on the market, or review the lists of stoves eligible for the grant program.

Opinions differ on how “green” biomass stoves and furnaces are. See How Green are Biomass Stoves and Furnaces? for more information.

Take Action:

1. Review the List of Wood Burning  and Pellet Stoves Eligible for Maryland Grant.
2. Purchase a stove or furnace and apply for the Maryland Clean Wood Stove Grant Program.

Links to more information:

• Union of Concerned Scientists. All about Biomass
• Maryland Clean Wood Stove Grant Program
• How Green are Biomass Stoves and Furnaces