Our Wood Heat Story
In 2011, the Center began promoting the use of wood heat through the Model Neighborhood Project, which facilitated pellet boiler installations in pilot communities across in the Northern Forest. Clustering these boilers together improved efficiencies for pellet providers and installers while creating community buzz and awareness of Automated Wood Heat, which had been used in Europe for decades but was relatively unknown in the United Sates.
The 160 pellet boiler installations that we supported had generated $5.6 million in economic benefits and reduced greenhouse emissions by more than 6,500 tons by the end of 2020, and the economic and climate change benefits increase each year.
To promote Automated Wood Heat more widely, in 2018 the Center and partners launched Feel Good Heat, a collaborative marketing campaign to increase awareness about automated pellet boilers and the benefits of switching to Automated Wood Heat.
The campaign created a website, marketing materials, and a community-based marketing plan to illustrate the benefits of wood heat to the broader public. Supported by testimonials from satisfied customers and a peer-reviewed research that demonstrated that modern wood heating systems are more 54 percent “carbon better” than using fossil fuels, the campaign reached hundreds of thousands of consumers and generated inquiries to industry partners.
Expanded Campaign
The urgent need to create greater market demand for low-grade wood led us in 2020 to raise funds and deepen partnerships to expand the Feel Good Heat campaign to include multiple types of modern wood heating systems (not just automated ones).
The marketing initiative will serve the region, increasing the economic and climate benefits of using wood heat, and provide a model for collaborative marketing beyond the Northern Forest.
