In a wood-fuelled heating system, also known as a biomass system, wood chips, pellets,
or logs are burned to generate heat, for either an individual room, to provide a home’s
central heating, or to power water boiler systems.

• Stove use logs or wooden pellets to generate heat for individual rooms, or they might
  also have a back boiler, which heats water.
• Boilers use wood chips, pellets, or logs and are connected to both central and water
  heating systems. Savings reaped from using a wood-fuelled boiler might reach as much
  as €720 per year when compared to electric-only heating. 

  

The Benefits of Using a Wood-Fuelled Heating System

• Affordable heating fuel: though the price of wood used for fuel varies a great deal, it is most often more economical that other sources of heat.
• A low-carbon emissions option: when you burn wood, the emissions of carbon dioxide are exactly equal to the amount of CO2 that was absorbed by the plant during the months of ears it was growing, so no additional carbon dioxide is being introduced to the atmosphere. This is a sustainable process so long as the plants burned for fuel are replaced with new. The process of cultivation of the plants, the manufacture of fuel wood, and the transportation of that fuel wood does
  introduce some additional carbon emissions, but if you utilize locally sourced fuel
  wood, these extra emissions are significantly lower than what would be the case with
  fossil fuels burned for fuel.

Costs and Potential Savings

Up-Front and Maintenance Costs
The typical cost of a pellet stove, with installation included, will be approximately €5,160.
A log stove, on the other hand, will frequently cost less than half that amount, even when
you include a new chimney lining or flue.

Regarding boilers, a pellet boiler with an automatic feed system built for the average home,
including installation, fuel storage unit, flue, and taxes will total approximately €13,800.
Boiler systems that are manually fed logs will cost slightly less.

The cost of pellets will vary depending on the pellet size and how they are delivered. Purchasing
pellets as you need them will make the fuel costs more expensive. If your home has room to store
several tonnes of wood pellets all the time, purchasing bulk pellets delivered by tanker will reduce
the cost as low as €228.

Logs are usually less expensive than wood pellets, but the cost of fuel logs depends on the prices
set by your local area’s wood, since transportation of logs is expensive. If your storage area will
accommodate a year’s supply or more of logs, you could save lots of money on fuel costs by
purchasing logs that are not seasoned and allowing them to sit for a year.

Savings
The savings of carbon dioxide emissions is very significant - about 7.5 tonnes per year of CO2
emissions are eliminated when you replace coal fired or electric systems with wood-fuelled
boilers. The monetary savings vary more - if you are replacing a gas powered heating system
with a system that is wood-burning, your savings may be a little as €120 per year; however,
if the system being replaced is an electric heating system, your savings could amount to up to
€696 per year.

The following table demonstrates your expected savings should you replace a heating system
using another fuel source with a wood pellet burning central heating system in an average 3
bedroom, semi-detached home that features basic insulation:

Fuel Type Replaced	Expected Savings	Expected CO2 Savings
Electricity	€696 per year	7.5 tonnes per year
Oil	€336 per year	4 tonnes per year
LPG	€864 per year	3.5 tonnes per year
Coal	€360 per year	7.5 tonnes per year
Gas	€120 per year	3 tonnes per year

All of these figures assume that the house is insulated, as it is always recommended that a house
be insulated prior to the installation of a renewable energy system.  Therefore, it is possible for
you to save energy and money from insulating, and then compound those savings by switching
to wood heating as well!

Choosing which kind of Wood-Fuelled Heating System is right for You

• Boiler or stove? Wood-burning boilers can be substituted for a standard oil or gas boiler
  to provide heat to radiators for an entire house, as well as to heat water. Stoves, on the other
  hand, only provide heat to an individual room, and are usually used along with another heating
  system; however, a stove may also be equipped with a back boiler, which provides hot water.
• Wood Chips, Logs, or Pellets? Chips aren’t a suitable fuel for providing heat to a single home,
  but are perfectly acceptable for heating large buildings or groups of homes. Pellets are more
  controllable and are easier to use than logs; a pellet boiler can run automatically, very much
  like as oil or gas boiler operates. Stoves and water boilers that operate by burning logs must be
  hand-filled with wooden fuel, whereas most systems that burn pellets or chips include and
  automatic feeding unit that introduces more fuel periodically. Logs require much more work
  on the part of the person operating the system, and many logs are needed to heat an entire
  house, but they often cost less to run compared to pellet systems if there is a good local supply
  of logs.
• Do You Have a Convenient Local Wood Fuel Supplier? There are some companies that
  now offer home delivery of pellets everywhere in Northern Ireland and mainland Britain; supplies
  of logs varies depending on your location.
• Do You Have Sufficient Storage Space? Boilers that use wood for fuel require more space than
  those that use gas or oil for fuel. Fuel storage requires even more space, and the storage location
  must be easily accessible for both fuel deliver is and for feeding fuel to the boiler.
• Is There a Good Place for the Flue? Your home will need to be outfitted with a flue that meets
  the building regulations for using appliances that burn wood for fuel. This will require either a
  stainless steel flue pipe that is insulated properly, or a chimney (chimneys usually need to be
  lined for them to be both legal and safe) that is already extant.
• Will You Require Any Kind of Permission? It is possible that you will not need zoning
  permission or some type of permit to convert to a wood-burning system, but you should
  check to be sure. All new installations of wood heating systems must comply with the area’s
  building regulations; the best way to be sure of this is to hire an installer who is part of a
  competent person scheme.

 

 

If someone is looking for an environmentally friendly way to heat their home, they may want to consider replacing a forced-air furnace or boiler system that is powered by fossil fuels with one that is fuelled using biomass fuel sources. The most well known of all of these systems are those that use wood pellets as a fuel source but others are available that use the following as fuel sources:

• Solid wood pieces such as logs
• Corn

Advantages to using biomass as a fuel source

There are many different advantages to the use of a biomass fuel source. One thing that many people appreciate is the fact that the fuel used to power them is often much more affordable than it would be to power a system with an equal amount of a fossil fuel. Here are a few other advantages to using biomass fuel sources to heat a person’s home.

• They are carbon neutral. As plants grow, they absorb carbon. The only carbon that is emitted when the fuel is burned is that which was absorbed while the fuel source was growing
• They can be produced locally. Corn and wood pellets are easy to produce locally and their sale supports the local economy. Because the fuel source does not need to be transported a long distance to get to the end user, it also cuts down on the amount of pollution linked to this fuel source
• The fuel is compact and easy to store. Corn and wood pellets are very easy to store. They are compact. Wood pellets contain very little moisture and can be stored for quite some time without worrying that they will break down
• They are renewable. Unlike fossil fuel, there is an unlimited source of biomass fuel available. Wood pellets can also be created using the waste from the lumber industry making it a very efficient and environmentally friendly fuel source

Types of biomass heating systems

There are many different types of biomass heating systems on the market. Stoves are available which can heat an entire home. This is done in a way that is very similar to a forced air furnace system. These heaters can often use direct venting systems making them easy to install in a variety of different settings. Boilers can also be used to heat water which will then be pumped through radiators or through radiant heating systems.

If you are considering a biomass heating system for your home you may want to see which systems are available in your area and choose the system that meets your needs the best.

If you have decided that you want to heat your home using wood as a biomass fuel source, you still have a few decisions to make. This is because wood fueled heat systems come in several varieties and some will be better for your needs and budget than others. Here are a few things to consider when choosing your system.

A carbon neutral fuel source

One thing to consider when deciding whether wood is right for you is that wooden pellet stoves are carbon neutral. The only carbon they emit is the carbon that was absorbed by the tree during its lifetime. Because no extra carbon is generated, these systems are known for being extremely environmentally friendly and many countries offer rebates or incentives to try and encourage their use. If you are installing one of these systems you may want to see if there are any programs or schemes you can take advantage of.

Direct heat or indirect heat

One of the first decisions you may want to make is whether you will choose a direct heat system or an indirect heat system. An example of a more direct heating system would be a wood stove or wood pellet stove. These pump out heat that will warm an area directly. The areas immediately surrounding the stove will be heated by the stove itself and other areas of the home can also be directly heated through the use of fans and duct work.

An indirect heating method would involve the use of a boiler that heats water through the use of wood or pellets. This water can work in either a radiator system or through radiant under floor heating systems that warm a home efficiently and affordably.

Manual or automatic feed

One thing to consider is whether you want your heating system to be manually or automatically fed. An automatic feed system allows you to fill a hopper or bin that introduces pellets into the stove or boiler at a predetermined rate. It is not necessary for you to feed the stove or boiler yourself. Automatic feed systems are more expensive in many cases but due to the fact that they are very easy to use, it is no wonder that so many people choose to install them.

Pellet stoves and boilers are an affordable, reliable and environmentally friendly way for you to heat your home and it is no wonder that they are becoming much more widely used. Only you will be able to tell which kind of heating system is right for you.

One of the major selling points to wood pellet systems is their carbon neutral label. Because these systems are considered to be carbon neutral, they are eligible for many different energy grants and rebates. But what is a wood pellet system, and how can any system that burns fuel be considered carbon neutral? Here is what you need to know.

Wood Pellet systems

There are two main types of wood pellet systems. Both use the same basic fuel source. Wood pellets are created from waste wood products such as sawdust. They are light, compact and cost effective. In terms of heating costs, wood pellet systems produce the most heat for the least amount of money as wood pellets are much less expensive than oil, propane or natural gas systems. Pellets can be fed into systems manually or automatically and the fuel is often locally produced, making it great for local economies.

The first type of wood pellet system is a stove that provides direct heat to a home. They act in much the same way as other types of central heating systems. They have the advantage of being compact and easy to install and can be quite affordable for many people.

The second type of wood pellet system is a boiler system. This heats water which is then used to heat a home. It can be used in a radiant in-floor heating system or pumped through radiators in order to heat a home evenly and reliably.

Why these systems are carbon neutral

It is true that burning wood pellets does release carbon into the air. Wood pellet systems are still considered to be carbon neutral since the trees that produced the wood absorbed carbon from the air while they were alive. The only carbon that is released from burning wood pellets is that which the trees absorbed initially. Since there is no net increase in the amount of environmental carbon, these systems are determined to be carbon neutral.

Governmental schemes and rebates

There are many rebates and schemes that you can take advantage of by installing a wood pellet system. One is the SEAI’s Greener Homes Scheme. This provides rebates depending on the type of biomass system that you install in your home. All wood pellet systems are considered to be biomass systems. You are able to get a rebate of up to 2500 Euro for a biomass boiler system or up to 800 Euro for a biomass stove system. Other countries may offer similar rebates and savings for wood pellet systems.

If you are interested in using an effective heating system that is environmentally friendly you may want to consider using a system that is fuelled by wood. Wood fuelled systems are carbon neutral and, as wood fuel grows quickly, it is much more abundant and renewable than fuel sources such as peat and coal. There are a number of different ways that you can use wood to power your home.

Why wood is considered to be carbon neutral

Burning fuel produces carbon. Since wood burning stoves do emit carbon it can be difficult to tell why they are considered carbon neutral and therefore environmentally friendly. As a tree grows it absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and uses it during photosynthesis. As a waste product it produces oxygen. A forest of trees can remove a massive amount of carbon dioxide. It is the fact that wood absorbs an equal amount of carbon dioxide as it produces that makes this fuel source carbon neutral.

This makes it much more environmentally friendly than other fuel sources such as coal, peat and natural gas. These fuel sources also produce carbon when they are burned but they do not absorb any while they are being generated. Therefore they are considered to leave a carbon footprint.

How to use wood in our home

Although many people think that the only way to use wood in a home is in a wood-burning fireplace this is not true. There are a number of ways that wood products can be used in a home in order to heat it. Wood can either be used as is, or waste wood can be turned into pellets that can then be used in several different ways.

Pellet stoves and boilers can heat a home very efficiently. A pellet stove with a hopper can be filled with pellets that travel into the stove gradually. This means that they do not need constant attention in order to allow them to continue to emit heat.

A boiler can be used to heat water for use in a radiator or a radiant floor system. A radiant heat system can often warm a house very efficiently and has a number of benefits when compared to traditional forced air systems.

Taking the time to learn how pellets can be an advantage. You will often see how using one of these systems can translate into a greener earth as well as lower heating costs for your home.

Wood pellet Stoves and Boilers use locally available fuels, the Biomass.
The financial crisis is on and soon the price of imported fuels, particularly
petroleum product price is going to be sky high. Well, as it is globally
the Petroleum crude price is at an all time high just after the lapse of past two year’s uneasy serenity.

The current European Brent Crude Futures is a terrifying US$ 91.58 per barrel and on the other side of
the Pacific West Texas Intermediate peaked at US$ 89.35. These are the highest clearing since October 2008.
For Ireland even without the peaking, the financial crisis would bring about a near disaster as over 90%
of its fuel is imported anyway.

Get ready for a shocker. True the he petroleum prices rallied to some extent since 2008 but it is still at least 40% more than what it was before the crisis of 2008! Soon, the financial experts say, we will find the crude barrel at US $ 100.
Will the Irish survive this?

Winter is on us!

This winter is globally the harshest that occurred for a long time. Is this evidence of climate change due to our callous disregard for the environment?  What ever it may be, right now the winter is sneering at the Irish. “What have you been doing last so many months?” seems to be the question it’s asking.

Almost everyone knows there are only two answers to the question of fuel poverty which is likely to hit many of us soon. Either find petroleum locally right now (an impossibility) or in the alternative, change over to renewable energy sources. The latter is surprisingly nothing new and SEAI has been helping people to make this change over, during the past years. Using Biomass fuel for home heating is the easiest and oldest time tested method. Wood Pellet burning stoves are the current favourite in this regard in Europe.

How different are the Wood Pellet Stoves?

The wood burning stove is dependent on the natural “chimney draft principle” where as a pellet stove must use specially sealed exhaust pipe to prevent gases of combustion leaking to indoor conditioned space due to the increased pressure created by the electric blower. In general the pellet burning stove would consist of certified double walled exhaust vent which is about 75 mm to 100 mm, where the inner wall is stainless steel and the outer construction is of galvanised steel.

The availability of an electric blower do away with the necessity for the vent to be rising vertically up. Few bends and crooks in a horizontal vent pipe is quite acceptable. Only if you you have frequent power failures, it may be necessary to have 1.5 to 2 m vertical run of the exhaust vent to induce some natural draught.

Another convenience is the ability to run the vent pipe horizontal and terminate below roof line, if there is no chimney. If a chimney is available the manufacturers’ recommendation is to run a correctly sized and fabricated stainless steel vent up through it to top.

Wood Pellet Stove components

The following are the major parts of a wood pellet stove.

• An Auger
• A Hopper and associated components
• One electrically driven  Combustion Fan and one Convection Fan
• A ceramic fibre lined Fire Box –which in reality consists of a burn-pot and a system to collect ash left over after the combustion of the fuel.
• Safety devices such as heat sensors and vacuum switches etc.
• A control panel

As evident from above the pellet stove requires a few watts of electricity to drive the blowers and auger. This is easily offset by the savings and the environmental benefits derived by the use of biomass fuel which is mostly a waste product based.

Available SEAI Grants

Incidentally the following grants are availble when you invest in a Biomass burning home heating device

• Biomass Boiler                                                        - Euro 2,500
• Biomass Stove                                                        – Euro    800
• Biomass stove with integral back boiler     – Euro 1,400

Greentech.ie provides free consultation for your Biomass heating systems and other renewable energy systems to enable you tide over the present crisis and fuel poverty. Contact them today on Call Save 1890 245345. Presently SEAI provides assistance by way of grants to set up wood pellet stoves and boilers in homes. However a financial crisis may shelve the project. All the more reason for you to call Greentech.ie right now for an appointment.

Biomass burning heating systems inherently have several facets just like in the popular movie and expression the good, bad and the ugly. The most widely used fuel product of biomass combustion for heating is wood pellet and wood chips.  The good side of the pellet stoves is worth pitting against the bad and the ugly. This exercise will give you an idea why the SEAI in their Home Energy Saving Scheme is willing to award grants up to Euro 2,500 for a Boiler installation, Euro 800 for a Stove installation and Euro 1,400 for a Stove with integral Back Boiler installation.

The good side of Wood Pellet burning appliances

Here are some interesting facts in favour of Wood Pellet appliances.

• The pellet stove and boiler are still simple devices. There is a storage container or a hopper which feet the solid bio-mass fuel in to an auger which conveys the fuel to a burn pot. By adjusting the speed of rotation of the auger a steady and regulated fuel feed is ensured.
• Modern units while being attractive also utilizes microprocessor controls, thermostats etc and automatic ignition and shut down, for user friendly operation. They are also therefore available as remote controlled units which recycle on the operation of a thermostat.
• The fuel is made out of waste material and the raw material prices are cheap. Only the vendors of the final product engage in overprizing etc. most of the time in order to make a quick buck.
• The fuel is pure bio mass and therefore has a very low carbon foot print. Naturally bio mass is a renewable fuel.
• The efficiency of modern microprocessor controlled   pellet stoves is as high as 90%. In many countries the users are provided with special incentives like tax rebates and grants even when the efficiency is anything over 75%.
• Still the wood pellet price is reasonable while only a few months back fossil fuel prices peaked indiscriminately creating economic chaos everywhere.
• The wastage in transit, handling and storage of wood pellets is high. The manufacturing costs too are high. In spite of this the prices are reasonable at present.
• The raw material is a resource locally available and therefore the manufacture is not hampered greatly by external influences of petroleum producers etc.
• Some pellet stoves can burn not only straight wood pellets but also mixtures of it with corn, sunflower seed, wheat and cherry pits.

The Bad and the Ugly of Wood Pellet burners

The bad side too is interesting.

• Unless properly maintained and the system is well designed, the emissions of green house and toxic gases may take place. Many European countries have strict regulations regarding this.
• The carbonaceous solid fuel produces a lot of ash and has to be cleaned regularly. This of course is dependent on the quality of fuel used as well. The use of premium grade fuel may result in less than 1% ash residue. On the other hand use of low grade wood pellets may produce up to 4% residual ash.
• The product is hygroscopic. The European Norms specify maximum moisture content at production. However during transport and storage wood pellets may absorb moisture lowering its quality. The combustion in the stove or boiler may not be therefore complete and as a consequence inefficient while producing considerable smoke during the process.
• The powdery nature of the raw material, wood work waste, is considered an explosion hazard like all other powders.
• The readily perishable nature of the wood pellets makes it necessary to have a well protected storage room which makes the initial cost of installation high.
• The total wood pellet requirement for an year is purchased in the hot season in the early parts of the year when the prices are low. This quantity runs into several tons even for an average home.
• If the pellet stove is not cleaned and maintained regularly the tarry black, combustible, sticky substance known as creosote will accumulate in chimneys and may cause chimney fires.

Who can avail the Bio Mass Stove/Boiler Grants?

According to the terms and conditions of Home Energy Saving Scheme, the following Bio Mass burning stoves and boilers  (and complying with the rest of the terms are eligible) for the grants.

• Individuals who are home owners
• Installing eligible products, in this instance a new wood chip / pellet, boiler or stove with back boiler or a stand alone stove (using the same fuels) and also wood gasification boilers.
• Using installers who are registered with the SEAI for the above work.
• Individuals intending to retrofit or install a new renewable energy heating system in an existing home built prior to July 2008.

Greentech.ie is your friendly advisor on all matters pertaining to energy and environmental conservation. Their consultation is provided free. To find out how to save on your home heating, wood chip and pellet stoves and boilers, what government grants you can expect, best choice of  equipment and contractors for your installation etc etc.  contact them on call save 1890 245 345 today for an appointment.

Wood Pellet Stoves and boilers are devices that can burn biomass to produce space heating in the fall and winter in your home. It is advancement on the age old technology of open stoves, fire places or open fires. Biomass such as firewood has been abounding in the past and even now quite a quantity is available. Unlike in the days gone by, it is not possible in the present day to cut down boughs or trees as and when you need fuel for your stoves.

Man designed biomass fuel!

An answer has been found in the fuel crises hit seventies in wood pellet, a pelletized waste product of timber and furniture manufacture. The hitherto piled up wood chips, shavings and saw dust that created a disposal problem to the industrialist, at last  found a way to clear the saw mill or the factory dump yard.

Today you would find fully automated pellet boilers which you would install and forget, so to speak.
A thermostat would sense your room heating need, feed in wood pellets to the burner through an auger, regulate the heat out put, and cut off when not needed. All you would have to get involved for is to clear the left over of combustion – ash.

What are wood pellets?

Wood pellets are compressed industrial waste of wood. The biomass wood is a good source of energy easily undergoing combustion and releasing huge amounts of heat energy within a stove or a boiler of a centralized hydronic system. In Europe the  pellets are manufactured according to very stringent standards in line with DIN 51731 or  O-Norm M 7135.

Each wood pellet is about 15-20 mm in length and has diametre of about 6 – 8 mm. It is extremely dense due to high compaction at manufacture. So much so that unlike wood it would not float in water but sink to the bottom as soon as it hit the water.

The fuel pellet is extremely dry and generally the moisture content is less than 10% at the manufacture.

However it is highly hygroscopic and unless properly stored under strictly monitored conditions, will be soggy like a crispy biscuit left exposed. This unfortunately renders the costly product useless.

The metamorphosis of pellet stove

The device which was a very business like simple steel box when it was invented in the 1930s, has changed face to an attractive piece of decoration in your living room or wherever you intend to keep it for heating and a comfortable interior. The pellet stove may be either free standing or placed as fire place insert that vent in to an exiting chimney.

The material of construction is heavy cast iron or steel which conduct and radiate heat off them.
The control system electrical or electronic components and exhaust functioning sections are encased in stainless steel.

Similarly, just like the decorative stove pellet boilers and furnaces too are available depending on your requirements. The boiler used in hydronic systems have the useful property to store heat energy generated by combustion. These are mainly applied in retrofits with minimum changes to the ducting, plumbing, venting etc of the existing heating arrangement.

Government grants are available for retrofits

In Ireland wood pellet stoves and boiler retrofits would enable you to qualify for a grant aid from the Sustainable Authority of Ireland. This may vary from Euro 800 to 2500 depending on your  process.
It is no different in any other country as well where wood pellet stoves and boilers are being sold, due to it’s many user beneficial attractions. If it is not a government grant at least a substantial tax rebate will be on offer to encourage you.

You can do no better than seek advice from your friends at Greentech .ie, which is provided at no cost to you by the way, how wood pellet boilers help you to save on energy costs, how your action would reduce your motherland’s dependence on imported fossil fuel, how the planet’s future will be ensured for our future generations and last but not least, what government grants are available for your retrofit. Contact them today on call save 1890 245 345 for an appointment.