Wood Stove Decathalon to prove efficiency

November 18, 2013

Competitors are finishing up the first ever Wood Stove Decathlon at the National Mall, 12th and Jefferson Drive SW in Washington, DC.  The Decathlon, held November 15 - 19 challenged teams to design and build wood stoves that are highly efficient, produce low emissions, and are innovative and affordable.

The event is sponsored by the Alliance for Green Heat, the U.S. Forest Service, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and industry groups seeking to improve the efficiency of wood-burning appliances.

The 14 finalists are Dragon Heater, Firemaster, Helbro Stoves, HWAM, Intercontinental, Kimberly, Mulciber, Ofenbou and Feurerstellen, Smartsove, Travis, Tulikivi, Walker Stoves, Wittus, and Woodstock Soapstone.   These companies entered high-efficiency wood stoves, hybridt stove/rocket heaters, and masonry heaters, as well as retrofits to modify existing wood stoves to improve efficiency.

According to Dragon Heater their Helix stove is a hybrid of traditional wood stoves and rocket heaters. It utilizes a traditional firebox with horizontal feeding of the wood including a glass door for viewing the fire. Then, it uses the turbulence and an internal stack or secondary burn chamber from rocket heaters to produce very hot, optimized burns.

Soapstone stove by Tulikivi

Jason Stewart invented the IntensiFire, which is a new downdraft retrofit for wood stoves. He said that  Downdraft brings the benefit of more complete combustion up to 60% more for the same amount of wood. It will bring the benefits of secondary combustion air to older stoves that don't have this function. Baffles are no longer required and the cost of the IntensiFire is around the same as the cost of a replacement baffle.

A team from the University of Maryland created the Mulciber Wood Stove, which includes heat recovery and smart ventilation and burning systems.  It has automatic systems to control air flow in order to maintain the ideal burning conditions and thermoelectric generators provide power to circulate stove heat throughout the home.

Tulikivi introduced their Hiisi 4 hybrid heat-retaining fireplace using soapstone which releases heat more slowly.  The Hiisi 4 uses cord wood or pellets without electricity to operate, and is designed to meet the world's tightest emissions standards set for 2015.

The winner of the contest will be announced on November 19, 2013.