Exactly How Biomass Improves Our Planet

By Author: Hassie Humbird
Total Articles: 2
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Alternative sources like biomass boilers for home and business energy are a hot topic today amid concerns about climatic change and fossil fuel crises. As the prices of non-renewable fuels increase to mirror their rarity, it has become more essential than ever for the common man to not just reduce their own expenses but in addition care for the future of the environment in any way possible. Luckily the UK government is on our side, and many incentives are now accessible to increase the prevalence of environmentally friendly heating systems like biomass boilers beneath the Renewable Heat Initiative.

A Bit of Background

Put simply, biomass is living or recently living materials which can be burned for energy - unlike the long-dead animals that make up our coal, crude oil and natural gases. Logs, chips or wooden pellets can be used for burning in one of these brilliant, although logs and chips tend to have relatively high moisture levels in comparison with wooden pellets which means they take more energy to ignite combustion. They have been found in rural areas for quite some time, but as costs decrease and incentives ...
... are exploited, a lot more homes are going for to install their particular biomass boiler.

A Closed Carbon Cycle

Materials which can be utilized in biomass boilers have a very important quality - they have what is known a "closed carbon cycle" which means that the dangerous gases released during burning are counteracted by the positive results of trees absorbing fractional co2 from the air. Wooden pellets are by far the most environmentally-friendly option as their low moisture content means better efficiency when burned, although logs and wood chips are still suitable alternatives. Wooden pellets are the most popular type of biomass fuel, mostly because the alternative of wood logs and chips retain moisture, therefore needing more heat to begin the combustion process. Grant UK's biomass boilers even have their very own patented turbulator baffle system which recycles waste heat back into the machine, and have as much as 94% efficiency.

The advantages and disadvantages of Biomass Boilers

There are a number of reasons to consider installing a biomass boiler, quite apart from a respect for the environment. While they may be quite expensive to purchase and install, you can save approximately £80 annually on bills when compared with a gas heater, and over £500 when replacing an electric home heating system. The biomass fuel costs less than fossil alternatives, and if you try to buy from local or at least national sources they cause almost no damage to the environment to produce, pack and send. By bulk buying biomass boiler fuel it can save you even more money - although you may need to invest in a storage shed!

The downside to biomass boilers

Unfortunately the popularity of biomass boilers is a long time coming, and you can still find some complaints about the system which are being addressed. One of the biggest of such is how big the machine, which can be significantly larger than gas or electric heaters, and the extra space that is needed for that fuel; for the time being this discourages small households from getting involved, although smaller designs are being produced all the time. The cost of the device and its installation can cost anywhere between £14,000 and £19,000, an intimidating price, although the UK government's Renewable Heat Incentive is beginning to reduce this cost and the cost of any future maintenance. Meanwhile log-burning machines have gotten a bad reputation for the high level of maintenance they want, although the machines which use wooden pellets need checking only once per year and most of the time feed and clean themselves.

You simply will not regret buying a biomass boiler

Installing a biomass boiler in your home is actually a significant long-term investment, and therefore you will have to pay a lot because of it, sometimes three times as much as a gas boiler - this cost is somewhat off-set from the lower cost of wood pellets compared to gas, which is certainly going to still increase in price. They also require slightly more effort to maintain, although there are many models available now which only need occasional check-ups. All of us have a responsibility to care about the environment, and when helpful solutions can save you money in the long-run it's really a no-brainer.