The story began in November 2012 with a devastating fire at NorthWoods. The small building housing the boiler that heated our main complex burned down. We were facing an expensive replacement project with many unknowns, and few resources. Nearly a year later, NorthWoods has come out of the fire much the better! Not only are we ready for winter, we’re also achieving some important efficiency improvements. Your donations of funds, materials and professional and volunteer services continue to be critical to our recovery and success. Thank you! And please read on to see the progress we’ve made.

The new wood gasification boiler.

The new wood gasification boiler.

Our boiler story features more than a few heroes, including our friends at Poulos Insurance who helped to sort through the insurance claim and secure a settlement that covered a significant portion of the replacement cost, and designer/contractor Vermont Heating and Ventilation (VHV) of Williston—who brought the technical background to design and install our facility to the modern energy-efficient standards we were hoping for, and also recognized NorthWoods as an environmentally important client that could help demonstrate energy efficiencies critical to improving Vermont’s energy report card. For this reason, VHV donated a portion of the design, labor and equipment project costs.

We are grateful for additional recovery support from the Derby Lion’s Club, the Vermont Community Foundation Special and Urgent Needs Fund, Efficiency Vermont rebates that enabled us to go with super-efficient LED lighting (in conjunction with New England Electrical in Newport and installed by Gates Electric of Newport—who also didexcellent work), site work by JB Hauling and Excavation, excellent building design and construction by Lee Cooper, and a hefty list of NorthWoods board, staff and friends who volunteered during the demolition, clean up, and re-building process, donated building materials, and were generous with their time and energy as we mapped out some precepts and ideas that would be used to design and construct a truly remarkable new facility.

Two 400 gallon water tanks help store heat and improve efficiency.

Two 400 gallon water tanks help store heat and improve efficiency.

The new boiler, while smaller, is a more state of the art version of the previous—still wood gasification so we can burn wood from our site. Efficiency is greatly increased through the addition of two 400 gallon water tanks for heat storage, and the system now has a backup heat supply with a Buderus instantaneous propane hot water heater capable of carrying the building if the wood boiler goes out on a long cold night or weekend. We also added a backup generator in case the power goes out during a storm, and a water service to support the boiler system, allowing the building to be sprinklered for fire safety.

The building layout, while on the same foundation, has completely changed—about 40% of the footprint will be a new, heated workshop for Terry, our Head of Maintenance. Building quality is also improved with better insulation, a better roof, and nice aesthetics. The building overhangs are designed to emulate the overhangs built into forest homes in Germany to store firewood (see photo). NorthWoods will also be palletizing the firewood to allow a more efficient way to store and move the firewood.

If your winter plans include a NorthWoods workshop, a visit to our ski trails, an evening coffeehouse (why not all three?), take a moment to enjoy the cozy atmosphere thanks to our new boiler. And don’t be shy about asking for a boiler tour—we love to show it off!