EAST SPRINGFIELD, Ohio -- Gerald Risnear of East Springfield planned to spend his retirement at home with his son, but about two years ago, he said he started having trouble breathing.

“I’m gasping,” said Risnear.

“I’m actually gasping for air. It’s a terrible sin.”

Risnear said he didn’t know what was causing his respiratory problems until he noticed thick clouds of smoking coming from his neighbor’s outdoor wood boiler.

Outdoor wood boilers did not gain wide popularity as a method of providing home heat until the late 1990s.

Since then, more than 150,000 outdoor wood boilers have been sold across the country.

That includes 13,000 in Ohio, 11,000 in Pennsylvania and 3,000 in West Virginia.

Outdoor wood boilers are legal in the Ohio Valley, but they have sparked a recent debate throughout the country.

The Environmental Protection Agency has no regulations in place for how much smoke these furnaces can emit.

Some state governments have tried to take action themselves.

At least eight states have already placed restrictions on outdoor wood boilers. Some have banned them outright.

Gerald Risnear told NEWS9 the wood boiler in his neighborhood emits a lot of smoke.

“It's unbearable, really,” said Risnear. “The air is like you're in a fog and it's hard to breathe." Complaints about smoke have caused some local business owners to change their minds about selling them.

Marty Morrison of Fireplaces And Fixin’s told NEWS9 outdoor furnaces use two to three times more wood to operate, and in his opinion, they’re not worth it.

"They do make a lot of smoke,” said Morrison. “The chimneys are typically only about 6 feet high on these things, so that is relatively low. The smoke will go down and right into an adjoining neighbor’s house."

The location of an outdoor wood boiler can determine what kind of impact it will have on neighboring homes.

Dealers NEWS9 talked to said it is the dealer’s responsibility to ask potential customers where they live and how close the nearest home is.

Outdoor wood boilers are not made for use in cities or densely populated neighborhoods and are better suited for rural homes, according to dealers NEWS9 interviewed.

Despite the controversy, owners of outdoor wood burners told NEWS9 they have no complaints.

A typical furnace and installation costs between $8,000 and $12,000.

Nancy Parr, of Wellsburg, owns an outdoor wood boiler and said she has saved money since she installed hers four months ago.

"My electric bill has dropped more than half, my propane bill has decreased about 80 percent,” said Parr. “I love it and I wish I would have had it five years ago."

Rob Freshwater sells outdoor wood boilers through his company Northern Panhandle Heatmor.

Freshwater said outdoor wood boilers not only save owners money on their heating bills, but also decrease the risks associated with having an open flame inside the home.

"With using an outdoor wood boiler you have no carbon monoxide gases that would be inside your house,” Freshwater said.

The Ohio EPA is taking a closer look at outdoor wood boilers.

OEPA has assigned a study group to make suggestions to the state legislature about restrictions on emissions.

The U.S. EPA began work on a federal standard for emissions in 2005, but is not expected to make a final ruling until 2010 at the earliest.