Choosing Heat & Airin Washington
All decisions

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Heat, west side

Heat, east side

Oil, propane and wood

Cooling

Wildfire smoke

Damp, crawlspaces and ducts

Money and rules

Decisions Oil, propane and wood Both sides

Should you keep your wood stove or replace it?

Keep the stove or Replace with a certified stove or Add a ductless heat pump

Compared by the people who run this site. Updated . Rebates and prices checked November 3, 2026.

Whether to keep or replace a wood stove depends first on whether it's EPA-certified, because uncertified stoves are shut down in Stage 1 burn bans unless they're the only heat source. A pre-1993 stove probably isn't certified, and local programs may help pay to replace it.

The verdict, by situation

  1. If you have a certified stove, dry wood and another heat source for ban days

    Keep it. Certified stoves can burn in a Stage 1 ban, though Stage 2 means "NO inside or outside burning."

  2. If your stove predates 1993 and you live in Spokane County

    Apply to the changeout before you buy. Spokane Clean Air lists $2,500 toward a ductless heat pump, $1,800 toward gas, $1,400 toward pellet and $1,000 toward wood, as of November 2026.

  3. If you have an old stove in one of the listed Columbia Basin zip codes

    Check the recycle offer. Ecology lists $500 for a working uncertified stove, through June 30, 2027 or until funds run out, as of November 2026.

  4. If wood is your only heat and you rely on the exception

    Add another heat source when you can. The only-source exception lets you burn during a ban, but it leaves you tied to dry wood, stove upkeep and smoke days. See ductless or baseboard if you have electric heat too.

  5. If you're selling or buying a house with an old stove

    You don't have to remove it. Ecology says removal isn't required at a home sale, and it also says selling an uncertified stove is illegal.

A log burning behind the glass door of a wood stove in a lived-in home.
A log burning behind the glass door of a wood stove in a lived-in home.

Side by side

CompareKeep an uncertified stoveCertified or pellet stoveDuctless heat pump
Stage 1 banOff, unless it's your only heatCan burnUnaffected
Stage 2 banOff, unless it's your only heatOff, unless it's your only heatUnaffected
Spokane County changeoutNone to keep$1,000 wood, $1,400 pellet$2,500
Reselling itIllegalCheck local rulesNot applicable
ChimneyCleaned and inspected each yearCleaned and inspected each yearNone
Fuel to store and dryYesYesNone
Heat in a power outageStove itself needs no powerDepends on the typeNone

Sources under the table: Ecology burn bans, Ecology stage 2 exception, Spokane changeout, USFA. The outage row is plain mechanics rather than an agency finding. Local agencies can word exceptions differently, so check yours.

What would change the answer

  • A confirmed non-certified stove, or the opposite. Ask your local clean air agency how to tell. Spokane Clean Air says a pre-1993 stove "probably is not EPA-certified."
  • Living under Puget Sound Clean Air. Its rule says that in Stage 2 it's unlawful to use pellet stoves and certified wood stoves (archived copy, March 2025). Confirm with the agency how the only-heat exception applies. No current replacement program there could be confirmed.
  • Moving to a heat pump as your main heat. A house with a working heat pump is hard to describe as wood-only, so ask your agency before counting on the exception in a ban.
  • Wet wood or heavy smoke at your flue. Those push the answer toward replacement or a change in how you burn.
  • A smoke-sensitive person at home. EPA's wildfire smoke advice also says to avoid wood stoves while smoke is present.

What it costs, with dates

We found no official installed price for a stove, chimney work or a heat pump, so none is printed here. Get written bids that separate the unit, chimney or liner work, hearth, permits and removal of the old stove. Heat pump bids should also itemize electrical work and any back-up.

As of November 2026, the money that exists is local. Spokane's changeout runs Fall 2025 through Spring 2027 for Spokane County homeowners whose stove is non-EPA certified or 20 or more years old, installed and working. It also lists $500 for wood to electric. The Columbia Basin recycle offer covers zip codes 98824, 98848, 99301, 99321, 99323, 99330, 99343, 99344, 99349, 99357 and 99363.

Wood's 2024 Washington residential price, per EIA's state data, was $14.07 per million Btu of fuel, before stove efficiency. No efficiency figure is sourced here, so we don't convert it to delivered heat. If you cut your own wood, your cost is different anyway. For other fuels, see what heat costs.

Who does the work

Installers and chimney professionals should be registered, which you can confirm on L&I's verify tool. Permits vary: unincorporated King County requires a permit for wood stoves, and Tacoma lists woodstoves under its BLDRA permit. Ask your local office. Ecology's instruction is short: "Never install a non-certified wood stove."

Your jobs are checking the ban status, burning dry wood and booking the yearly chimney visit. USFA says chimneys should be cleaned and inspected each year by a professional. Keep CO detectors near every sleeping area. If a CO alarm sounds, everyone goes out first, then call 911 from outside.

What do Stage 1 and Stage 2 actually stop?

Stage 1 stops uncertified devices. Ecology's list reads "NO use of uncertified wood stoves or fireplaces (except when a wood stove is the only source of heat)." Spokane Clean Air says that in Stage 1 "only EPA-certified devices may be used." Stage 2 stops almost everything: "NO inside or outside burning," with the exception "when wood is the only source of heat."

Bans are local and they change. On November 3, 2026, Ecology's live list showed Stage 1 for the Columbia Valley urban growth area, with no Stage 2 anywhere. Check it before you light a fire. These rules apply on both sides of the state, so you can start from the west side or east side page.

Still from the video Wet Wood is a Waste: How to Test Your Firewood with a Moisture Meter
Video, 1:58. The U.S. EPA shows how to test firewood with a moisture meter.

How dry does firewood need to be?

EPA's answer is 20 percent moisture or less, shown in its moisture meter video. EPA's Burn Wise site is now a historic record, not updated since October 30, 2025, but the physical test still works. Never start a fire with gasoline.

A white house behind a snow-laden hedge at North 82nd and Sunnyside, Seattle, in 2008.
A white house behind a snow-laden hedge at North 82nd and Sunnyside, Seattle, in 2008.

Does a wood stove undercut a heat pump's savings?

Yes, on paper, because the wood was already doing part of the job. Billing research on Northwest ductless homes found savings of 747 kWh a year with supplemental fuel and 2,718 without. It also found takeback, mostly wood, cut savings by about one-third. That isn't a reason to skip the heat pump. Stopping wood may be the point, so judge it on bans, smoke and upkeep too. Spokane readers can compare next steps on furnace or heat pump in Spokane.

What people ask next

Can I give away an old uncertified wood stove in Washington?

Be careful. Ecology says selling one is illegal, and Puget Sound Clean Air says not to buy, sell, exchange or give away uncertified devices (archived copy, March 2025). Confirm with your agency.

Do I have to remove an uncertified stove before selling my house?

No. Ecology says removing one "is not required when you are buying or selling a house."

Does the Spokane changeout pay if the stove no longer works?

The program's terms call for an installed and working stove, so a stove that's already out of service may not qualify. Ask before you remove it.

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Where this came from

Start from your house