$73 Million, 35 Projects, who won, for what and why: The DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office 2019 Project Selections

Fire MAPS – Secure Performance Monitoring and User Alerts System  

Topic Area: Efficient Wood Heaters

Federal Share: $989,644

Project Director: Paul LaPorte, MF Fire, Inc.
Major participants: MF Fire, Inc, Biomass Emissions Solutions & Testing (B.E.S.T.) 

Project Description: Fire MAPS solves the large-scale problem of user-contributed emissions for wood stoves. MF Fire proposes to create a unique, commercially viable technology for wood stoves, called Fire MAPS (Monitoring, Alerts, and Performance System). Fire MAPS continuously monitors performance of key combustion indicators in the wood stove and delivers real-time user guidance and burn status to the user. In turn, the user interactively learns how to properly control the wood stove throughout the lifecycle of a fire. Stove users, equipped with timely guidance based on real stove performance data, can optimally operate the wood stove as it was intended, thus resulting in lower emissions and increased efficiency. Based on user-contributed emissions research, we anticipate a 5-8 g/hr reduction of real-world emissions per stove, a far greater reduction than can be achieved by stove design improvements of new wood stoves. 

All wood stoves are dramatically more polluting in real-world use than in a test lab. This is due in part to users who do not have sufficient knowledge or data to guide them in proper wood stove operation. User-specific contribution to wood stove emissions has been reported as high as a 600% increase over certified stove baseline emissions, attributed to factors including load size, log size, reload timing, premature or late catalyst engagement, fuel type, and air settings. For an EPA Step 2 compliant stove rated at 2.0 g/hr, users create up to an additional 12 g/hr of emissions due to improper wood stove operation. This means that the great majority of real- world wood stove emissions is preventable with effective user knowledge and training. Many users lack proper understanding of how to use a wood stove and no one has access to the critical, real-time information and guidance necessary to operate a stove in the manner in which it was tested or intended. This leads to stove misuse and exceptionally high real-world emissions. 

Fire MAPS is universally applicable and can be applied at a reasonable cost to any of the 12 million installed wood stoves in the US including unregulated pre-1988 wood stoves, 1988 certified EPA wood stoves, and more modern 2015 Step 1 and pending 2020 Step 2 certified wood stoves – a comprehensive solution that spans the entire industry. This solution does not require modifying or changing the wood stove itself thus avoiding warranty or EPA certification issues. Sensors can be seamlessly placed in a stove by the home owner or a certified installer without requiring any modification to a wood stove. Stove users, from novices to experienced burners, will quickly and easily learn to use the wood stove to their advantage, while substantially lowering emissions. The system will also show the user the performance gains and benefits achieved in terms of higher efficiency (more heat, less wood, fewer reloads) and lower emissions (cleaner air in their house and community). Fire MAPS has the potential to significantly improve air quality throughout the United States.