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Time to swap out your old wood stove

Central Okanagan Regional District offering incentives for wood stove upgrades
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If smoke from your old wood stove or insert clouds the air in your neighbourhood, the Regional District of Central Okanagan wants you to consider upgrading and recycling your polluting burner.

And it is offering some financial incentives for you to do it.

The regional air quality program has cash rebates available thanks to the provincial government for Central Okanagan residents who upgrade their old wood stoves to cleaner-burning ones.

A $400 rebate is available for anyone who replaces an uncertified wood stove with a cleaner appliance such as new pellet-burning stove, an electric heat pump or a gas or propane stove.

For those who replace and recycle their old, wood-burning appliance with a new EPA/CSA B415.1 certified wood replacement, a $250 rebate is available.

The regional district says participating Central Okanagan retailers will take care of recycling your old stove and provide all the necessary paperwork for the applicable rebate.

“It’s great that our air quality program is able to help put some cash back in the pockets of Central Okanagan residents who are upgrading to new cleaner burning technology,” said regional air quality coordinator Nancy Mora Castro.

“Changing out these older, inefficient, wood burners for new appliances cuts smoke polluting emissions by up to 90 per cent. It could also make your woodpile last longer, reducing the amount of wood burned by one third.”

Additional incentives may be available, so residents are being advised to check with their local retailers or Fortis BC for more information.

To take part in the program, visit a participating retailer in the Central Okanagan or contact the regional air quality program for more information at airquality@kelowna.ca or 250-469-8408.

Useful information and video links on how to burn smarter and get the most from your wood heating appliance can be found at regionaldistrict.com/airquality.

To report a typo, email: edit@kelownacapnews.com.

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