For the third time in recent years, Clarkson University’s Bayard D. Clarkson Professor Emeritus Philip Hopke was a judge at the Wood Stove Design Challenge on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The event includes rigorous testing of the next generation of technology that can make wood stoves consistently cleaner, more efficient, easier to use, and a renewable source of energy.
The event is hosted by the Alliance for Green Heat and several sponsors including the Osprey Foundation and NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority). The event showcases 12 finalists from around the world so the public, policy makers and those from the renewable energy community can take note. Judges will evaluate the entries according to innovation, market appeal, and ease of use, affordability, emissions, and efficiency. They also will consider how these new designs can improve real-world use.
“If you can see wood smoke and smell it, that means there is energy that is not heating your house,” he said. Hopke is the past chair of EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and has served on the EPA Science Advisory Board. He also is a past president of the American Association for Aerosol Research and was a member of the more than a dozen National Research Council committees. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
While wood stoves are a familiar heating option for the public, there are “a number of poor-quality designs on the market,” Hopke warns. The inefficient models not only waste energy and money, but also harm air quality.
The events continue through Tuesday, November 13.