Heating Your Without Oil

A Guide to Home Heating with Solid Fuel Stoves

The constant increased in fuel prices such as gas, electric and oil has resulted in people looking for alternative methods to heat their homes. Solid fuel has become a low cost alternative compared to other fuels. You may ask what is meant by Solid fuel and the answer is products such as coal, coke and wood are the most popular solid fuels While you can also place peat and fuel tablets into this class as well. Solid fuel home heating can come in two main classes boiler and non-boiler heating.

Non-boiler Heating

Non-boiler heating can be as simple as an open fire; older homes will normally have an open fire some of these may have been blocked up but normally you can restore the fireplace to a working condition. You will need to make sure that the substance can exit the room appropriately and have it all checked out by a qualified individual. One of the most popular selections is the wood burner these are becoming ever more the option for people wanting a solid fuel heater tank. Non-boiler heating will not provide hot water or supply your central heating power so if this is your choice then you will have to have an alternative source for your central heating and hot water provides.

Solid Fuel Boiler Stove Heating

Solid fuel boiler heating will normally be provided by the fire in the main dwelling room or a range in the kitchen. In recent years the Aga kitchen stove has seen resurgence these stoves provide hot water and heating as well as being used for cooking. The solid fuel fire in the main dwelling room can also have a boiler attached and provide hot water and central heating. One of the biggest issues with working with solid fuel heating as the source for your hot water is unlike gas, electric or oil heating where you have a constant provide of fuel; you are the supplier of the fuel. This means if you do not feed the fire then you will not have a constant provide of hot water and heating. However one of the largest bonuses of solid fuel heating is the cost of running it which is much lower than the other fuel  types.

Solid Fuel

The solid fuel heater comes in three main categories firstly you have the traditional coal burning tank on which you can use all the different variants of coal and coke. The wood burning unit as the name suggests uses wood to provide the fuel for the fire and heating, you should not use coal or coke on a Wood burning heating unit without checking with the manufacturer or instructions for the unit. The last tank is the multi-fuel tank and although these items cost more than the other two they are well worth it as you can use all the different types of solid fuel on this sort of device.

prior to deciding on changing to solid fuel heating you need to make sure your residence can easily be converted as this may significantly add to the cost of putting in solid fuel heating stove. You need to check on the prices of solid fuel and how easy it is to find or have delivered. Unlike gas, electric and oil where you have a constant provide it is you will be delivering and supplying the fuel so if it runs out it is your fault.

What Are The Benefits of Using Pellets Compared To Wood Logs

Wood heating however the use of logs is a long established form of solid fuel heating using logs. On the other hand, now the wood pellet has arrived on the market place. Some consumers yet are not clear on the advantages of biomass pellets compared to combustion logs, plus cannot see the benefits in either fee or heat. Here is a comparison of pellet vs biomass logs. Biomass logs have customarily been used for heating, on the other hand very rarely are biomass logs used at a complete heating solution. The reasons for this are simple, time, required maintenance, sufficient fuel storage along with fuel consumption. Loading a wood log heating system is very time consuming, plus getting the fire going can take up to half an hour. Constant loading of the fire every few hours is required, making it difficult to do other things plus remember the best up the fire. Also, as a fuel source, logs are by way of no means ideal. Firstly, to get a reasonable burn the wood must be seasoned to around 30% moisture content. This can take several years to achieve this moisture content, as it log form the moisture is well protected. Therefore a large volume of drying wood along with dry biomass for use needs to be stored. Yes, some consumers purchase dried logs, on the other hand when you actually compare the figures between dry logs as well as pellets, there is a clear winner. As wood pellets have a much lower moisture content plus lower density, measuring charge per heating value biomass pellets are cheaper than purchasing dried logs. So you would be essentially be paying more for a energy that generates less warmth plus required much more work.

Learn more about Cost of Wood Pellets

One of the key factors in a pellet vs wood comparison is automation, or specially lack of automation by way of wood log heating systems. A pellet system generally can hold at least a days worth of fuel, as well as in many cases more than a few days. Hopper extensions are common to take the fuel capacity of the unit up to a week, plus external hoppers can be used to hold up to a years worth of energy. Now compare this to wood lo heating systems, and not just the additional work required but the time. Due to the hopper system, a adaptable speed timed auger can meter energy into the fire to control the heat to a specific set level via a thermostat. A log stove cannot really control temperature as there is no control over fuel resource. Wood pellet systems have the processes required to fit the modern lifestyle.

Read more about Alternative Energy Solutions

Biomass logs or chips can be processed into pellet fuel via a series of processes. Primarily, shredding the biomass to a suitable size for the wood pellet press is required. Also note that a wood pellet press is also known as a wood pellet appliance or biomass pellet mill. Once shredded the sawdust is then monitored for moisture if above 15%, drying will be required, usually using waste wood as the energy source for the dryer. Once dry, on many large scale pellet plants, the wood is first conditioned before it enters the pellet mill. This can mean quite a few things, in many cases it refers to heat treatment via dry steam to start the melting process of the natural lignin within the wood to bind the pellets together. The matter then enters the mill.

More information on Biomass Gasification