The heating season is here and we are offering grant funds to offset the costs for homeowners to replace their old wood burning stoves and fireplace inserts with new wood, pellet, or gas devices as well as mini-split “ductless” heat pumps.
“This grant can help people replace their inefficient, smoky, old wood stoves,” said Lisa Woodard, Spokane Clean Air Communications and Outreach Manager. “Replacing them with new, more efficient devices has a direct and positive impact on air quality.”
During the heating season, wood stoves and fireplaces are large contributors to fire particle pollution, affecting the quality of the air we breathe both indoors and outside.
“There are many benefits to upgrading old woodstoves,” explained Woodard. “Not only is there a savings on heating costs , but also a health benefit by reducing dust and soot inside homes.”
To be eligible for the program applicants must be a homeowner residing in Spokane County (incorporated or unincorporated), and regularly heat with a wood burning stove or fireplace insert that was made prior to 2000 or is non-EPA-certified.
Approved applicants qualify to save hundreds of dollars to upgrade their old wood burning stove or fireplace insert. The discount amount is subtracted from the purchase and installation cost of the new device by a participating home heating/hearth business. The discount amount is based on the type of device selected for the upgrade:
- $800 toward wood
- $1,200 toward pellet
- $1,600 toward a gas stove *
- $2,000 toward a ductless mini-split heat pump
* New state grant funding requirement: If an applicant wants to replace their old wood stove/insert with a gas stove/insert, the applicant must document that gas is the most cost-effective option for them.
Spokane Clean Air has been administering various woodstove change-out programs since 2005, with over 750 uncertified wood heating devices replaced with cleaner options, reducing hundreds of tons of fine particle pollution from our air.
This program is funding with a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Additional information can be found on our Wood Stove Change-Out webpage.
