Teams

Stove Teams

Twelve teams have been selected as finalists in the 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge! Congratulations to all the team members and we look forward to seeing you and your stoves in November!

New Design Challenge Applications

SBI

Company: Stove Builders International
Website: https://www.sbi-international.com/en/
Location: Quebec, Canada
Category: Automated
Team Leader: Guillaume Thibodeau-Fortin
Contact: gthibodeaufortin@sbi-international.com

SBI is designing a new wood heater that controls its combustion itself, so anyone can use it and enjoy the benefits of heating with wood. Since the US EPA published the New Source Performance Standard (NSPS), SBI certifies wood stove using an Alternative Test Method (ATM) for cordwood. Even if the ATM used is more restrictive in some point (cold start emission sampling, hard to repeat due to split wood shape), the wood stove which is certified and tuned with local cordwood is more representative of what the consumer is likely to have at home. The objectives of the stove are:

Maximize the view of the flame with a glass that stays clean.
Minimize the footprint.
Reach particulate emission below 1.5g/h using a cordwood method.
Reaching above 80% of efficiency considering the lower heating value (LHV).
Allow wood logs of 16 inches.
Has a connection to mobile application trough wireless signal.
Be able to hide the flue pipe.
Make barely impossible to fail ignition.

Kd2

Company: Unforgettable Fire
Website: www.UnforgettableFireLLC.com
Location: Vashon, WA
Category: Thermoelectric
Team Leader: Roger Lehet
Contact: unforgettablefire66@gmail.com

The Kd2 is a vertically stacked dual firebox with a patented gasification system. Fuel efficiency is maximized and emissions are minimized by burning the returning gases created in the primary combustion chamber. The “Kd2” wood stove is capable of creating electricity via water-cooled thermoelectric generators attached to the exterior sidewalls of the stove. The stove can also heat water for domestic hot water needs, or for hydronic heating. In addition, the electrical power control center can accept additional electrical input from solar panels and wind generation systems.

509 Fabrications Inc

Company: 509 Fabrications, Inc.
Location: Post Falls, Idaho
Category: Automated
Team Leader: Dusty Henderson
Contact: Dusty@509Fab.com

Stove Name: Optimum
The Optimum is an automated stove that burns Presto Logs. These compressed wood logs have been around since about the 1920's, but until the last 10 years or so, they have been poorly made. The logs now are very dense and contain from 43,500 BTU's to almost 70,000 BTU per log. The logs are gravity fed into the firebox and the Optimum will hold 3 or more logs. The logs burn on their end rather than flat and the stove is verified at 79% efficient.

Stove Name: Optimum

The Optimum is an automated stove that burns Presto Logs. These compressed wood logs have been around since about the 1920's, but until the last 10 years or so, they have been poorly made. The logs now are very dense and contain from 43,500 BTU's to almost 70,000 BTU per log. The logs are gravity fed into the firebox and the Optimum will hold 3 or more logs. The logs burn on their end rather than flat and the stove is verified at 79% efficient.

Wiseway Stove

Institution: Hi-Z Technology, Inc and Northwestern University
Location: San Diego, CA
Category: Thermoelectric
Team Leader: Fred Leavitt
Contact: fred@vulcan.energy

The Wiseway stove is a pellet stove that operates using no electricity. It has already been EPA certified as compliant to the 2015 regulations. Hi-Z and Northwestern University will add a water cooled thermoelectric generator (TEG) to the Wiseway stove that can produce up to 100watts of power.

Initial Round of Finalists

DOWNDRAFT ROCKET

Company: ASAT
Website: https://stovetecstore.net
Location: Oregon, US
Team Leader: Dean Still
Contact: dean@aprovecho.org

Stove: Downdraft Rocket
Designed for heating and cooking in the developing world, this stove uses an improved, low cost TEG to produce 5 watts of power for lighting and charging cellphones. The combustion chamber, catalytic converter, and chimney lower emissions in an attempt to protect the health of biomass users.

E-STOVE

Company: Wittus-Fire by Design and HE Energy
Website: https://www.he-energy.gmbh/en/home.html
Location: New York, US
Category: thermoelectric
Team Leader: Niels Wittus
Other Team Members: Alyce Wittus, Patti Boker Elkon, Sandra Lena, Gail Jankus
Contact: Ingo.Hartmann@dbfz.de

Stove: E-Stove
The E-Stove was designed by German company HE Energy GmbH. The e-stove is a living-room-based combined heat and power unit developed for the production of electricity, heat and hot water. An essential element of this new product is the use of thermoelectric generators (TEG), which allows the direct conversion of thermal energy from the wood fire into electric energy.The current yield of 250-watts can cover the basic energy required by pumps and controls for the heating of buildings, hot water, LED home lighting and mobile devices.

KIWI 2.1 VcV

Company: VcV/ Flamekeepers/ Kiwi Stove Company
Website: www.thevcv.com
Location: New Zealand
Category: automated
Team Leader: Brian Gauld
Other Team Members: Eric Schaefer
Contact: brian@thevcv.com

Stove: Kiwi 2.1 VcV
The Kiwi 2,1 VcV hybrid stove is the first stove certified by the US EPA based upon test results obtained when cord wood was used as the test fuel. The weighted average emission rate was 1.3 g/h and that includes the emissions from a cold start high burn. The overall weighted average efficiency was 77.2%. The Kiwi 2.1 is equipped with the variable choke venturi (VcV) combustion air flow control technology that enhances both emissions reduction and increases overall efficiency. The VcV technology is also very consumer friendly in that a stove can be set to the Low burn setting right after a fuel load is added but the Primary VcV will not close until the stove has achieved a sustainable Low burn operating temperatures.

LUMBURNATOR

Institution: Stony Brook University
Website: http://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/matscieng/undergradute-cme/index.html
Location: New York, US
Category: automated
Team Leader: Devinder Mahajan
Other Team Members: Aristidis Mihalos and Kevin Riegel
Contact: abe.montes@stonybrook.edu and devinder.mahajan@stonybrook.edu

Stove: Lumburnator
The Lumburnator is a research project being undertaken by the Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Department at Stony Brook University, with the aim of building an exceedingly efficient wood burning stove. The Lumburnator is a test stove built symmetrically to operate in either updraft or downdraft configuration. It features a novel firebox design coupled with an electronically controlled air-flow system and exhaust remediation technology.

PELLEMATIC e-MAX

Institution: Maine Energy Systems
Website: maineenergysystems.com
Location: Maine, US
Category: thermoelectric
Team Leader: BJ Otten
Contact: BJ@maineenergysystems.com

Stove: Pellematic e-Max
Condensing microCHP pellet boiler.

THE CONTINENTAL

The Continental
Institution: The George Washington University
Location: Washington, D.C.
Category: thermoelectric
Team Leader: Alexus Camero
Other Team Members: Connor Itani, Yon Taek Chung, Karandeep Singh
Contact: alexuscamero@gwu.edu

Stove: The Continental
The Continental is an Englander 30-NC EPA certified wood stove that has been retrofitted with a thermoelectric generator. Students at George Washington are attaching two 50-watt and one 100-watt water-cooled thermoelectric generators to the stove. It will produce enough electricity to power lights and recharge electronic devices.