Solid Biofuel: Wood Pellet Boilers

Wood Pellet BoilersWhat it is:

Wood pellet boilers function much like oil and propane hot water boilers.  Many of these systems operate automatically.  Fuel is ignited only when heat is needed, and, in the case of wood pellet boilers, fed to the burner in measured doses via an auger. These systems are convenient enough to be a great alternative to fossil fuel fired boilers. 

Of course, the big difference is the fuel. Wood pellets are a lower cost, renewable, carbon-neutral fuel1.  Typically made from compressed sawdust and other waste wood, wood pellets are now made “locally” throughout North America.

Almost any heating system can be retrofitted with a wood pellet boiler, either as a stand-alone heat source, or as a primary or back-up heat source in conjunction with another boiler.

Past, present, future:

Pellet boilers have been virtually non-existent in the US until recently. European companies have led in the development of these boilers as a response to high carbon taxes assessed on non-renewable fuels such as oil and gas. Pellet boilers are now an excellent alternative to traditional oil, propane, and gas-fired boilers.

Advantages:

  • Pellet fuel is a carbon-neutral,sustainable (i.e. renewable) fuel.
  • Wood pellets are readily available throughout North America.
  • Pellet boiler technology is reliable, with thousands of successful installations throughout Europe.
  • Pellet boilers have heating efficiencies equal to or greater than oil boilers.
  • Wood pellets are not as bulky, burn cleaner, and are more convenient than logwood.
  • The net carbon dioxide emissions from biomass are much lower than the emissions from fossil fuels if the resource is managed carefully.
  • Wood pellets contribute to the income of the regional economy.
  • Wood pellets improve the energy security of the region.
  • Because they are sourced in the region, wood pellet prices are not impacted by the inflationary effect of a weakening dollar.

Disadvantages:

  • Pellet fuel is bulkier than oil (one liter of oil = 4.4 lbs of pellets.)
  • A little less convenient than oil and gas. Bagged wood pellets are usually made by pallet delivery.
  • Most wood pellet boilers need to have the heat exchanger tubes brushed clean (usually by the owner) every 2-3 weeks during the heating season to maintain efficiency.
  • Ash bins must be emptied from time to time

Ecological Impacts:

Just like previous generations, heating with wood or wood derivatives such as pellet fuel takes advantage of the natural cycles in our ecosystem. To be sure, our homes are larger than those used by our ancestors, but then our homes are better insulated and our heating sources burn fuel more cleanly and efficiently. Heating with a carbon-neutral fuel such as wood pellets is a sustainable solution that’s better for our ecosystem than is non-renewable fuels such as natural gas or oil.

Other Comments:

A related type of boiler burns wood chips instead of wood pellets. Wood chip boilers can make sense for larger installations, typically a 50 kW minimum. Wood chip boilers have their own set of advantages and disadvantages. For the purpose of this web site they are treated as a niche solution without a section devoted to them.

Contact EcoHeat Solutions Today!

To learn more about EcoHeat Solutions’ EcoBoiler wood pellet boiler, click here. Interested in getting more information on wood pellet boiler heating systems? Simply fill out our short online request form and we can help determine if an EcoBoiler may be a good fit for your application. 

 

  1. Wood and wood pellets contain modern era “biogenic” carbon. That is, its carbon is part of the modern era carbon cycle, as opposed to the carbon captured and sequestered over hundreds of millions of years but only now being released, as is the case with burning oil & gas. International greenhouse gas accounting methods developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (www.ipcc.ch), classify wood and wood pellets as being part of the natural carbon balance of the ecosystem. Al Gore, who shares the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the IPCC has called the IPCC the "world's pre-eminent scientific body devoted to improving our understanding of the climate crisis."

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Our Pellet Boiler

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EcoHeat Quick Fact:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has endorsed wood pellet
heat as one of the cleanest-burning, most renewable energy sources on Earth.