Biomass Boilers
Biomass heating systems come in a variety of forms, burning anything from logs or pellets to waste wood or wood chips. They are highly efficient and are considered very environmentally friendly, and are becoming very popular with businesses thanks to the grants and incentives now available for installing them. They are also suitable for domestic use, especially where significant heating is necessary such as large old properties or for heating swimming pools. Indeed, biomass boilers can be suitable for a vast array of buildings, from cottages to castles, factories and district heating.
Gondwana Green Heat is a Hetas approved contractor of woody Biomass Heating Systems, supplying, designing and installing small to large scale biomass systems. We are able to supply and install a wide range of biomass products from Europe: Hargassner from Austria, Ariterm from Sweden, Eco Angus (Orlingo) from Poland and Red – part the MCZ brand from Italy. Here are some of the different kinds of biomass boilers we can install:
1. Log boilers
Log Boilers, also known as Batch Boilers, are gasification biomass boilers which burn wood logs or briquettes and charge (heat) large accumulator tank of water. The water can be used for industrial processes, space heating or hot water to the taps. It is the cheapest form of biomass boiler, and requires you to set a fire a couple of times a day in winter, and maybe every 4 to 7 days in summer. Log gasification boilers are available from Gondwana Green Heat from 18kw to 130kw, and larger installs can be easily achieved with several boiler working together.
2. Pellet Boilers
Most people will now be familiar with wood pellets as a form of fuel, but if you are not: wood pellets are compressed saw. Pellets are very dry and can come in small 10kg bags or alternatively in a tanker and “blow in”. The more pellets you purchase the cheaper they become, typically between £200 – £300 per 1,000kg. It’s also important to realize you should only use Hetas approve pellets: be aware of poor quality cheaper pellets as they will increase the chance of breakdown and generally have poorer energy value.
Pellet Boilers work differently from log gasification boilers in the way they are automated and fire up when there is a heating demand. Pellet boilers are available with large hoppers which hold pellets that are fed into the boiler on demand. Small pellet boilers and domestic systems as well as small pellet stove boilers often have built-in hoppers, and these can often be upgraded to attach to a silo/pellet storage facility that feeds pellets automatically into the boiler. The main benefit of pellet biomass systems is the automated nature of the system, which can be similar to oil or gas systems in operation and maintenance. Gondawana Green Heat installs pellet systems from 3kw upwards, and we don’t have a upper limit due to the range of manufacturers we work with. Please see the link below for a good quality pellet supplier.
3. Wood Chip Biomass Boilers
Wood Chip Biomass Boilers burn waste wood which is put through a chipper to create a wood fuel. Most chip boilers are for larger commercial or industrial set-ups due to the higher capital cost involved. If you have your own source of wood chips e.g. estate, farm, industry etc, they can be a very cheap system to run. All of our chip boilers have automated ignition and fire up on demand making them similar to pellet boilers in operation. Like pellet boilers wood chips are stored and collected by a delivery system which is fed into the boiler.
4. Log / Waste Wood Forced Air Biomass
Imagine a drum in a drum: a fire is set in the inner drum which heats up the space between the 2 drums, the hot air between the 2 drums is then blown through ducting to heat the space. No radiators, no hot water, simply forced hot air. The main benefits are low capital cost compared with other forms of biomass, quick heat-up of property and easy to use. We also sell a small range of pellet fan assisted stoves which push air through ducting or through the grill on the stove, and these are ideally suited for smaller or better insulated spaces.
5. Biomass Boiler Stoves
Biomass Boilers are a great replacement for oil and gas, with no need to change existing heat emitters. Biomass boilers can be used to heat tiny properties or large commercial buildings – there really is a biomass product suitable for everyone.
Gondawana Green Heat is also heavily involved in district heating, where multiple homes, apartments or commercial buildings are heated from one biomass boiler. This can help reduce the initial cost as well make fuel cheaper to buy in bulk.
Biomass boilers are particularly popular in rural areas where town gas is not available and oil prices are soaring. However, we have seen massive interest in small pellet boiler stoves recently as people go green in mains gas areas too.
The other main reason home owners, commercial space and local authority are interested in biomass is the grant system. There are currently commercial and domestic grants available for biomass equipment to be installed.
