Don't Miss This Gas Log Discount From Gov't

Orange County's air pollution control agency, the AQMD, is offering residents a $200 discount to convert their wood-burning fireplaces to a "clean-burning" gas log set.

More than 60 retailers are participating in AQMD's Healthy Hearths program, offering up to $200 off professional installation of the gas log sets.

South Coast Air Basin residents, which include Orange County and the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, are eligible for the discount. The discounts are available on a first-come, first-served basis up to $500,000.

“Residents can play an important role in protecting their health and our air by making the switch to clean-burning natural gas logs,” said William A. Burke, Ed.D., chairman of AQMD’s Governing Board.

According to an AQMD press release, natural gas log sets have a similar look to wood fires, but the gas option helps eliminate fine particulate emissions and takes the messy hassle of wood and ash out of your life.

In the Southland, wood-burning devices and fireplaces are used in an estimated 1.2 million households.

"They emit more than five tons of harmful PM2.5 emissions per day in the South Coast Air Basin—more than four times the amount of PM2.5 emitted from all the power plants in the Southland," according to the release.

Interested residents must visit a participating retailer. Find retailers and confirm eligible zip codes online at HealthyHearths.org. Click Gas Log Incentives.

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AQMD's Healthy Hearths initiative was adopted in 2008 and includes the Check Before You Burn program —

 "A wood-burning curtailment program in effect from November through February each year on days when unhealthful air quality levels are forecast.

Under the Check Before You Burn program, no-burn advisories will be issued on days when PM2.5 levels are forecast to be unhealthy. No-burn advisories will be issued only for the specific areas where PM2.5 levels are forecast to be unhealthy and not for the entire region. Residents using clean-burning gas logs are not subject to the curtailment program.

Numerous studies have found unhealthy levels of PM2.5 associated with increased emergency room visits, hospitalizations and early deaths. Three new studies released earlier this month by the California Air Resources Board show that exposure to PM2.5 significantly elevates the risk for premature deaths from heart disease in older adults and elevates incidence of strokes among post-menopausal women."