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Which Fuel?
The Energy Costs of Wood Fuels
The Basis of your Future Expenses |
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Energy derived from fossil fuels will
unavoidably become more expensive. Future developments in the price of
wood are manageable by comparison.
The price of fossil fuels has
jumped in unpredictable leaps, yet constantly increased (something that
was considered unlikely ten years ago). This situation will probably
not improve in the medium term. The demand, particularly for crude oil,
will continue to increase due to the growth of countries such as China
and India, and the price inexorably along with it.
Log wood is a source of energy that is comparatively stable in price. With wood, you are heating on the safe side.
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Go Straight to
Wood Fuel Products.
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| Sensible for Nature and for Us |
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Those who consider
the impact on nature are acting to help future generations. Since
without functioning natural systems, there wouldn’t be any beneficial
living conditions for us. The increasing number of catastrophes due to
storms and floods gives an idea of how expensive a disregard of nature
can be to us. Wood is stored solar energy, and heating with wood is in
harmony with nature.
This is because heating with wood only releases
the quantity of CO2 that the tree removed from the atmosphere as it
grew.
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With the burning of crude oil and natural gas, however, CO2
reserves that have been stored for millions
of years are released into the atmosphere in great quantities. This CO2
increases what is called the greenhouse effect.
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Wood has
additional advantages: the burning of wood generates lower sulphur
dioxide emissions as compared to heating with fossil fuels.
Wood is
transported over shorter distances from domestic woodlands and thus
strengthens the regional economy. But don’t worry about disappearing
forests, more wood is grown each year than we consume. Opt for
renewable resources; choose wood. | |
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A healthy cycle
Plants
remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Through decaying and burning, they
return exactly as much CO2 to the atmosphere as they previously
removed. Heating with wood therefore contributes to a healthy natural
CO2 balance in the atmosphere.
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Useful facts regarding heating with wood | |
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Energy prices 2002 - 2006
The demand determines the price. Crude oil will become more expensive as an increasing number of
countries require this raw material.
An end to this upward spiral in
price is nowhere in sight. By contrast, wood prices change only
moderately. |
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As an operator of a
wood heating system, you can considerably influence its efficiency and
emissions. A minimum of emissions can be achieved by burning well
dried, split wood.
Waste wood or dirty, decayed and very wet
wood requires energy for drying, produces less heat and reduces the
service life of the boiler. You can only achieve maximum heating
performance of the boiler (nominal output) and minimum emissions by
using dry wood.
The huge influence of water content upon the thermal value is made clear by the following diagram.
Sources: Energy Information Centre, Stuttgart.
Wood Sales Promotion Fund, Bonn.
Bavarian Regional Office for Agriculture and Forestry. |
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| Thermal value in kWh/kg according to water content (wet basis) | | |
| Useful Conversions |
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Wood Moisture Comparison:
Water content (wet basis) 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%
Wood moisture (dry basis) 18%, 25%, 33%, 43%
Conversion Factors:
1 litre of heating oil generates 2.676 kg CO2
1 litre of heating oil corresponds to 2.5 kg of wood
1 kg wood (w = 20 %) generates 4.0 kWh/kg
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1000 Litres of Heating Oil Corresponds to:
Approx 5 - 6 rm hardwood, stacked log wood
Approx 7 - 8 rm softwood, stacked log wood
Approx 10 - 15 srm wood
Explanations and Abbreviations:
1 srm = 1 m3 of poured wood (loose)
1 rm = 1 m3 of stacked split wood (stere)
1 fm = 1 solid metre of wood (without gaps) |
About the wood fuel industry
• Burning of wood fuels is considered to be carbon neutral – meaning that it gives out as much carbon dioxide when it burns and is take away when it grows.
• The wood fuel industry is booming due to increasing oil and gas prices and considerable growing unease about the sufficiency of oil refining capacity and the diminishing supplies of natural gas.
• With much of the world’s natural gas supplies being controlled by unstable nations, a switch to wood fuel heating makes sense given that we have abundant supplies of wood fuel in the UK
• Wood burning appliances can be designed to burn traditional wood logs or wood waste or new manufactured fuels such as pellets and briquettes.
• The energy market is affected by global events whether man made or natural disasters (e.g. Hurricane Katrina) therefore it is prudent for householders to be able to survive on a number of different fuel types. The UK has plentiful supplies of wood and this is a good alternative to oil or gas.
Further Advice
The Solid fuel Association
Funded by solid fuel producers and distributors the Solid Fuel Association was established to encourage greater awareness of the benefits of domestic solid fuel heating among the general public. The Solid fuel Association provides information on the use of solid fuels for domestic appliances.
The Solid Fuel Association estimates that sales of wood burning stoves rose by 30% in the 12 months from June 2007 to June 2008.
The Solid Fuel Association promotes the health benefits of burning a mix of coal and wood which, it claims promotes healthy circulation of air in a house and minimises condensation. Multi fuel stoves offer the perfect solution for effective and efficient use of wood and coal.
[More]
The Carbon Trust
Providing information on reducing carbon emissions and developing commercial low carbon technologies The Carbon Trust also offers Energy-Efficiency Loans, which are unsecured and interest free, with no arrangement fees and a straightforward application process. Loans can be repaid over a period of up to four years, and many borrowers have found that their energy savings more than cover their repayments.
[More]
UK Smoke Control Areas
The UK Smoke Control Areas website provides information about Smoke Control Areas and Authorised Fuels in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
[More]
HETAS
HETAS is the official body recognised by the Government to approve solid fuel domestic heating appliances, fuels and services.
Without HETAS approval for either a new or second hand stove, there are potential risks of carbon monoxide emissions, invalidation of a house’s insurance and potential difficulty in selling a property without the necessary certificate.
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Energy Costs, Wood Fuel, Domestic Heating Systems, Commercial Heating Systems, Smoke Control Areas UK, The Carbon Trust, Solid Fuel Association, Energy Efficient Loans, HETAS, solid fuel domestic heating appliances, fuels and services.
