Alaska Center for Energy and Power scientists are trying to see if households in a North Pole neighborhood would use new electric heaters to displace a portion of their wood heat, a major source of air pollution in the area.
Alana Vilagi, a researcher with UAF’s Alaska Center for Energy and Power, shows the ceramic bricks inside an electric thermal storage heater. 50 of these ETSH stoves will be installed in homes in the North Pole area to help reduce PM2.5 caused by wood smoke.
The goal of the study is to learn whether these electric thermal storage heaters can help reduce home heating costs and improve air quality, especially the worst PM2.5 particulates.“They kind of act like a thermal battery; a coil heats up high-density, ceramic bricks, and it’s in an insulated compartment,” Pride said. “And so that heat can be stored in that compartment for like up to 24 hours.”
“Once the temperature inversion traps air close to the ground, then everything that we emit into the air just sits there, for days, weeks, however long the inversion lasts until it finally blows out,” she said. “PM 2.5 is very bad for your health, but on the other hand, wood is by far the cheapest way to heat your home, especially households that don’t have a lot of money to spare,” Pride said. “They just can’t afford to heat 100% with heating fuel oil. It…it puts a lot of households in a difficult position of choosing between healthier air quality and more affordable home heating.”
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