BIOMASS BOILERS

With the continuing rise of the price of fossil fuel, people from all around the UK are feeling the effects as they turn up their thermostats during the cold months.  This increased cost to not only your own pocket but also to the environment has seen many people looking for an alternative source of heating and hot water. Biomass boilers offer a great solution to many people in this situation.

What is biomass?
The term biomass refers to a type of fuel used by biomass stoves and boilers and is used as an alternative to fossil fuels.  Generally the term biomass can refer to either animal or vegetable carbon derived matter but when used in conjunction with biomass boilers can refer to either wooden logs, pellets or chips.

Wood pellet biomass boilers are an environmentally friendly, safe and convenient way of heating the home, using wood pellets as fuel.

However, they differ from traditional solid fuel boilers. Apart from the green aspect, the units are fully automatic and behave more like an oil or gas boiler, using advanced controls which cleverly regulate the amount of fuel being delivered to the burner to match the heat demand on the boiler. The fuel is fed to the burner via an auger connected to the adjacent pellet store/hopper. This can, in turn, be automatically supplied from a bulk pellet store which can vary in size.

The process of burning wood produces ash, so wood pellet boilers or biomass boilers  normally require a certain amount of regular cleaning and maintenance, which can be tedious.

Biomass boilers are available in outputs of 6-26kW with an efficiency of 97.4%, and 9-36kW with an efficiency of 93.1%.

Biomass boilers have many benefits including:

• A rapid ignition system with modulating burner
  This means the boilers operate in much the same manner as a standard gas boiler to give you a greater degree of control of your energy output and control.

• Lower energy consumption and greater efficiency than our competitors
  Biomass boilers are far more cost effective to run than fossil fuel boilers.

• Uses wood pellets as opposed to other types of biomass fuel
  During the burning of biomass fuel any water content must be evaporated prior to combustion, this requires additional energy.  Boilers use the most efficient form of biomass fuel which is wooden pellets.  Compared to logs and wood chips these have a very low moisture content.  This helps with their combustion efficiency and therefore reduces your energy consumption.

How the boiler works
On start up the auger feeds the wood pellets from the hopper into the burner where it is lit by an ignition element. The burner output modulates to achieve the set temperature by controlling the feed rate of pellets. The fan in the burner propels hot gas generated from the fuel into the primary heat exchanger. The heat energy is then transferred to water from the central heating system, before being circulated around house to radiators/underfloor.

Are biomass boilers suitable for my home?
Yes, wood pellet boilers are a safe and convenient way to heat your home.  One thing to consider is the amount of space you may require.