WHAT IS BIOMASS AND HOW DO WE USE IT?
“Biomass takes carbon out of the atmosphere while it is growing, and returns it as it is burned. If it is managed on a sustainable basis, biomass is harvested as part of a constantly replenished crop. This is either during woodland or arboricultural management or coppicing or as part of a continuous programme of replanting with the new growth taking up CO2 from the atmosphere at the same time as it is released by combustion of the previous harvest. This maintains a closed carbon cycle with no net increase in atmospheric CO2 levels” Thanks to the Biomass Energy Centre for this description.
Biomass energy is created from logs, wood pellets or wood chips. These are burned in a biomass boiler to create energy to provide hot water and/or heat your home.
Biomass Boilers
Biomass boilers can use wood chips, pellets or logs.
Pellet boilers are the most commonly used. They tend to take up less space than the other types. Hopper or automatically fed they need to be located close to the fuel store and can therefore be placed in an outhouse or utility room.
Wood chip boilers require large fuel stores and can require a large buffer as they are slow to react to changes in loading. Less suitable for domestic situations.
A log boiler itself is quite compact but requires a larger fuel store and more frequent fuelling. This is more suitable for non-
We generally recommend pellet boilers (or chip boilers if you have access to your own supply and can chip the wood yourself). They can be integrated seamlessly into your heating and/or hot water systems.
Maintenance and Other Considerations
It is worth considering how much fuel you have access to and how frequently any boiler will require feeding (potentially daily in some cases). The availability of local wood suppliers or wood fuel co-
Biomass boilers require annual maintenance by a qualified technician. In the interim they will require maintenance from the householder (emptying ash bins etc) as well as ensuring fuel supplies are adequate.
Please complete the Biomass Enquiry Form in the first instance.