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FAQ GENERAL QUESTIONS
INSTALLATION QUESTIONS
FUEL QUESTIONS
GENERAL QUESTIONS Why is burning wood better than burning oil or gas? Coal and oil are finite fossil resources that will run out. Wood is a renewable resource that can be produced to meet our woodfuel requirements often within the locality of the boilers. This reduces transportation, provides local employment, keeps money in the local economy and reduces CO² emission therefore reducing pollution such as acid rain. Using woodfuel can also provide a competitive and stable price in a volatile market.Does burning wood save reduce CO² emissions? Even allowing for emissions of CO² in planting, harvesting, processing and transporting the woodfuel, replacing fossil fuel with wood will typically reduce net CO² emissions by 90%. Is it bad to cut down trees for fuel? We all read articles and see picture of rainforest destruction; globally 14.6 million hectare(30.06 million acres) of natural forest are cut down each year, which is an area larger than the UK! In 2000 10% of the UK’s total imports of timber, pulp and paper were thought to come from illegal sources. The East of England has about 140,000 hectares of existing woodland 50,000 hectares of which are currently not managed to produce much timber. The development of the woodfuel market in our region will bring this great natural resource back into active management, hopeful reduce the market for these illegal imports. All felling of trees in tightly controlled by the Forestry Commission and the forestry standards in the UK are some of the highest in the world. The Forestry Commission has rightly told Government that there is 2,000,000 tonnes of wood that could be used for woodfuel. Through using local, well managed supplies of timber all environmental costs of using timbre are minimized. Will we run out of wood? The East of England does have a huge untapped resource of wood; however, the Government and the Forestry Commission are aware that we will have to plant short and mid rotation coppice to meet our future energy needs. The Forestry Commission have set up a Biomass Energy Centre (see our links page) and along with Forest Research they will be undertaking research trials to develop new methods to meet our future needs and I’m sure this will be linked to grants and best practice advice for landowners. I own and rent out office space that is heated with oil. How do I go about installing a woodchip boiler? This could prove very beneficial to your business through reducing heating costs. The woodfuel industry is seeing a huge growth from businesses that are keen to install fully automated wood chip boilers. We recommend you consider the following points:
Modern boilers are fully automated and are designed to heat offices, factories, schools, hospitals, swimming pools and homes. Where you need heat a woodfuel boiler can supply. For further help and information please contact us info@angliawoodfuels.co.uk. It may be worth joining Anglia Woodfuels to ensure you are fully informed with any decisions you make. What is CHP? Combined heat and power (CHP) plants produce both electricity and steam from a single fuel at a facility located near the consumer. These systems recover heat that normally would be wasted in an electricity generator, and save the fuel that would other wise be used to produce heat or steam in a separate unit. Is there a boiler near me that I can go and have a look at? INSTALLATION QUESTIONS Is there a lot of smoke and what If I live in a smokeless zone? Very little smoke is produced from a modern woodchip boiler, you might get a very small plume of smoke on the initial boiler ignition, but after that boilers are practically smokeless with little or no smell. We suggest you speak to you local authority before installing a woodfuel boiler for advice. All over the country modern highly efficient woodfuel boilers are been installed in smoke-free zones. Are there any grants available? What about the ash, will I be emptying it all the time and what do I do with it? As woodchip boilers operate at 90% + efficiency, and burn only small amounts of wood, only very small amounts of ash are produced. Ash cans need to be emptied out every 2-6 weeks depending on the fuel, the size of the boiler. Ash can be used a soil sweetener on gardens and placed in compost bins. Is the fuel really dirty and wet? Where can I find a fuel supplier? Where can I get a quote for the boiler? Who fits it? There are an increasing numbers of installation engineers who are fitting woodchip boilers. Please refer to the Boiler Installers page. We would recommend the company who supplies the boiler should also fit it. Isn''t using wood inefficient and dirty? Modern wood boilers are extremely efficient and clean. A typical woodchip or pellet boiler could be expected to run at over 90% efficiency. Wood for heat is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than most other forms of energy. FUEL QUESTIONS What sort of fuel should I use? This is a difficult question to answer. As it depends on:
Boiler installers and/or an experienced heating consultant are best able to advise on your specific needs. What is a woodchip and what are pellets?
Is there some form of standard for the fuel? A new British standard has been published (number CEN335) we expect this to become an ISO standard in 2008. However, even without standards we are seeing fuel quality is improving and you should have no concerns about finding a woodfuel supplier who can supply quality woodchip or pellets. |
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