American Lung Association's Woodstove Changeout Program is Granting Vouchers in Cumberland County, Maine

The American Lung Association’s Cumberland County Wood Stove Changeout Program is providing funding to Cumberland County residents who want to replace old wood burning stoves. The program, which has been running since 2020, has issued vouchers to 82 Cumberland County residents who have successfully replaced old wood stoves with a new, healthier heating appliance. The Program works to improve outdoor and indoor air quality by removing old, high polluting, low efficiency wood stoves and replacing them with cleaner burning, more efficient EPA-certified wood, pellet or gas stoves.  Currently vouchers are available based on a range of criteria, from $1,000 - $5,000 per home. 

“Replacing older high polluting stoves with new ones is an important way for communities to reduce harmful particle pollution and improve air quality,” said Michelle Edwards, Cumberland County Wood Stove Changeout Program Coordinator, for the American Lung Association in Maine. “The American Lung Association has long been committed to reducing resident’s exposure to wood smoke and we are proud to continue these efforts in Cumberland County.” 

Particle pollution is made of soot or tiny particles that come from coal-fired power plants, diesel engines, wildfires and wood-burning devices. These particles are so small that they can lodge deep in the lungs and trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes. They can even cause lung cancer, and early death.

The program lowers particle pollution emissions in the area and supports local retail stove businesses who are working with the Lung Association. In Cumberland County, participating retailers are: Alternative Heat Source, Naples; Buy the Fire, Oxford; Embers Stoves and Fireplaces, South Portland; Frost and Flame, Gorham; Goggin Energy, Portland (heat pump); Maine Energy Systems, Bethel; McVety’s Hearth and Home, Yarmouth and The Hearth Doctor, Auburn and Topsham. The American Lung Association is collaborating with the Northeast Hearth, Patio and Barbeque Association on this effort. 

Homeowners who live in Cumberland County and own a non-EPA certified woodstove can apply for a voucher. Vouchers are for $1,000 toward a new EPA certified woodstove; $1,500 if changing from a hydronic heater to an EPA certified woodstove; $2,000 for an EPA certified pellet, gas stoves or heat pump, if changing from woodstove or hydronic heater and $3,000 for income qualified participants (income qualified vouchers may use the voucher for EPA certified wood, pellet, gas stoves or heat pump). A $4,000 voucher is available toward the replacement of an old hydronic heater with a new EPA Phase II hydronic heater or ENERGY STAR gas furnace or $5,000 for hydronic heater replacement if income qualified; $300 for the retrofit of an existing woodstove with a new catalyst.   

Applications for the vouchers are available in‐store or online. Once people receive their voucher, they will have 30 days to enter into a purchase agreement with one of the participating retailers. The retailer then installs the new stove and recycles and makes the old stove inoperable. The number of vouchers is limited and the program will close once funding is depleted.

For more program details, go to Lung.org/woodstove or call 1-800-548-8252. 

For more about the American Lung Association, go to: www.lung.org.