Commercial Biomass Boilers
What are Biomass Boilers?
What do we mean by Biomass?
Biomass is the burning of biological products, such as wood, straw and plants to produce energy, usually in the form of space heat and hot water. There are a number of different types of biomass fuels, however, the most popular types of biomass for domestic and small commercial heating applications are wood-based fuels such as woodchips or wood pellets.
Wood pellets are made from low-grade by-products of the wood processing industry such as dry sawdust and shavings, produced in large quantities. The material is compressed under high pressure and extruded through a mould to form pellets. The heat they produce is comparable to domestic heating oil, however, they are approximately 40%* cheaper and require less storage space than lower density fuels such as wood chips.
*Correct at time of going to print
A typical biomass carbon cycle. 1. Atmospheric carbon dioxide, water and sunlight, 2. Converted into new plant material through photosynthesis, 3. Harvested and burnt, 4. Carbon released back into the atmosphere.
Why is biomass considered a renewable low carbon fuel?
The primary source of energy contained within all biomass fuels is energy from the sun that is captured and stored via the process of photosynthesis. This energy can be released and used (e.g. by combustion). When this occurs, CO2 is released. However, the CO2 released is largely offset by that which was absorbed in the original growth of the biomass, or which will be captured in the growth of new biomass to replace the biomass being used (as illustrated above). Consequently biomass is considered to be a low carbon technology if the material is derived from sustainable sources.
A simple transition from fossil fuels
For many people, biomass as a fuel was once considered to be an inefficient fuel that required a manual process of carrying heavy baskets of dirty logs. However, in recent years, biomass has seen a complete transformation with improvements in biomass fuel, burning technology and automated systems that offer similar convenience to fossil fuel boilers.
How Does a Biomass Boiler Work?
Green Energy Doctor will consider a number of systems including wood chip and log fed boilers in creating the solution for your needs. However, the type of system that Green Energy Doctor generally recommends for domestic and small commercial application is a pellet-burning boiler.
A pellet boiler is similar in principle to a fossil fuel boiler in that they combust a fuel that produces heat, which is captured and transferred to be used for space heating using your existing central heating system and for hot water production. The primary differences being that they burn sustainable pellets instead of a fossil fuel. They use microprocessors to control the amount of fuel and air being supplied, ensuring high efficiencies (often in the range 90%-96%) and, also, they produce very little pollution. Another difference is the feed system of these biomass boilers that are based on a suction system (or an electrically spiral conveyor) doing the fuel transport and making the process largely or fully automatic and featuring all the facilities available on modern fossil fuel boilers and more.
Biomass boilers produce heat, which is captured and transferred to be used for space or water heating. 1. Pellet Hopper, 2. Spiral Conveyor, 3. Combustion Chamber, 4. Heat Exchanger, 5. Heat transferred to heating system and hot water cylinder, 6. Ashtray.
What Are The Benefits?
Reduce Your Energy Bills By Up to 50%
With a pellet-wood boiler you may typically cut your heating bills by 40% - 50%, which will mean yearly savings of many hundreds of pounds. The scale of the savings depends on the price of the fossil fuel being replaced and the cost of the biomass used. On a unit cost-basis, biomass fuels can be cheaper than many fossil fuels commonly used for heating. When replacing electric, LPG or heating oil systems, the payback on capital can be very rapid, in some cases less than 3 years.
Reduce Your Impact On The Environment
Pellets are stored solar energy. When burning wood, only the CO2 absorbed by the photosynthesis during the growth of the tree is being released. Heating with wood pellets is thus CO2 neutral. Furthermore, if the wood were to rot, it would release the same amount of CO2 as if it was burnt.
Easy to use as a fossil fuel system
Modern pellet-wood boilers are compact units that offer similar levels of convenience to oil and gas boilers. They have remote control and outdoor temperature regulation; you simply set the desired heating times and let the advanced technology work for you. They have self-cleaning and integrated ash compaction systems that mean you only need to empty the ashtray every 6 to 8 weeks. Pellets can be supplied once a year and blown into the storage room in a matter of a few minutes, clean and trouble-free.
Reduce Your Dependency On Fossil Fuel Imports:
Security of energy supply is a recurrent concern for fossil fuels; geopolitical instabilities in oil and gas producing regions can threaten availability and lead to unexpected price changes. With 12 percent of the UK covered with forests and every year more wood being grown than we consume. Any price changes are likely to be less extreme than can occur with fossil fuels and may also be more manageable/predictable if the biomass is sourced locally/from known suppliers that can ensure supply.
Support your local economy:
Fuels used typically with biomass heating systems tend to have diverse and localised fuel supply chains. UK sourced biomass can offer local business opportunities and support the rural economy.
Improved Efficiency And Lower Maintenance Cost
Unlike fossil fuel boilers that generally regulate by switching themselves on and off, pellet boilers modulate their firing rate to match the exact energy requirements in your property. This leads to a lower incidence of starting and stopping the system, an increased efficiency grade, a reduction in electricity consumption and a long life of the appliance, all of which means a lower energy bills and operating cost for you.
Improved energy performance ratings for buildings
Using biomass heating equipment in new or refurbished building stock could help to improve its overall environmental/energy performance and help it to achieve lower carbon emissions as represented in an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)
Is It Suitable For My Requirements?
Biomass can be an excellent alternative as a primary heating source and can provide an excellent solution to reducing energy bills, particularly if you are one of the 1.5 million properties in the UK that does not have access to mains gas. However, deciding whether a biomass system is appropriate for you or your project requires consideration of a number of factors. The following are some general principles that will help you decide whether it is a technology you would like to consider in more detail for your property or project, we will of course take all these and more into account when designing an efficient and smooth operating biomass system:
Fuel Supply & Quality:
Whenever a biomass installation is planned the intended sources of fuel should always be included in the planning and the equipment specified accordingly.
Fuel Delivery:
In the UK, pellets are available by the bag and in some areas by bulk tanker. For a boiler, a typical storage unit may require filling once or twice a year for pellets. This typically requires both vehicular access and a convenient way to transfer the fuel from the delivery lorry into the store.
Fuel Storage:
For a primary central heating system for a domestic house a fuel store of approximately the size of a large garden shed is recommended, preferably larger for wood chips.� Any design must ensure that there is a suitably dry area, sufficiently close to the intended site of the combustion equipment. Green Energy Doctor will properly design a suitable storage system.
Size of boiler:
Domestic and light industrial biomass boiler systems tend to be slightly larger than their fossil fuel equivalent. With high density modern housing, making space available for a fuel store can sometimes be a challenge.
Heat Demand/Optimum Firing:
It is very important not to over specify biomass boilers and take seasonal variation into account. Where seasonal operation varies between high-level output for winter heating and low level output for summer hot water, a biomass boiler supplemented by a solar thermal system might offer a suitable combination.
Heating System:
A biomass boiler will connect to most existing wet radiator central heating systems that are in most UK homes. Green Energy Doctor will be able to advise on the suitability of your current system and any potential small changes that might be required to make the system suitable.
Which system, equipment and features is most suitable for your property or project depends on a number of factors, but don't worry, Green Energy Doctor technical expertise is on hand and will take all these into account as part of the design.
Please feel free to call us, send us an email or send us a drawing of your specific project.
How Much Does It Cost To Install?
Prices of pellet-wood boilers are higher than those of gas boilers and oil boilers. They vary a lot and depend on elements as brands, output, controls and specific features. But expect to pay 5 times more for a pellet boiler than for a gas or oil version. However, it is always important to remember that with savings of up to 50%, the on-going savings will offset the initial investment.
Once the technical survey has been carried out, Green Energy Doctor will be able to advise on the cost, which will be given as fixed prices for the total cost of the job.
How to Get Started...
To organise a no obligation site visit or to start moving your project forward contact the Green Energy Doctor today on:
T: 0845 009 5652
E: info@greenenergydoctor.co.uk