Wood Pellet Systems

Wood Pellet Boilers

Wood pellets are usually made from compressed sawdust and wood shavings.
Pellets are typically 5-10mm in diameter and resemble animal feed.
The low moisture content of wood pellets also reduces the relative cost of fuel transportation and they are easier to store than wood chips.
Bulk delivery of pellets is very similar to a delivery of home heating oil and is carried out by the lorry driver blowing the pellets into the storage space, while a suction pump takes away any dust.
Pellets can be stores for long periods, as long as they are stored in dry conditions.
A pellet boiler will require a 4 tonne silo/hopper to store enough pellets to last an average household 8-12 months.

Wood chip and manual feed log boilers are also available, although the efficiency of these systems is less than that of pellet systems due to the fact that they require more manual labour and the quality of wood chips and logs can vary. Storage for wood chips and logs is more demanding than for pellets as they are bulkier and wood chips in particular are much more susceptible to absorbing moisture and will not store for as long.

Multi-fuel biomass boilers are also available which burn not only wood chips, pellets or logs but also grain and energy crops such as willow, wheat and oats.

Wood Pellet Stoves

Most Irish houses have a fireplace, which could easily accommodate a highly efficient woodstove.
A modern woodstove can convert over 80% of the energy content of the wood into heat, compared to a standard open fireplace which is only 25-25% efficient.
Modern pellet stoves are not only more efficient than traditional solid fuel stoves but they also require far less frequent removal of ash and in general are self cleaning.
The ash pan needs to be emptied no more than once a month.