Wood Pellet Boilers and Wood Chip Boilers

Eco Link Resources has recently installed over thirty wood pellet boiler units in Sainsbury's supermarkets and during 2012 there will be a further thirty more units being installed. These have been delivered in the form of modular units that will heat and provide hot water for their stores. These units house both the wood pellet boiler in one side and the other side stores the pellets ready for use.

Within a short period of time more and more companies will venture into using sustainable energy within their organisation. The need to reduce global warming by becoming more energy self-sufficient is appreciated by all. The creation of employment by careful management of woodlands and by using the energy which is supplied as a by-product of animal husbandry is an essential way forward as we try to reduce our negative impact on the environment.

We have the considerable experience necessary to design and install high quality wood chip boilers or wood pellet boilers. Our specialists will listen to our clients' requirements and provide a biomass system according to our extremely high specification. Our comprehensive service is underpinned by our maintenance contracts to ensure that if there were to be a problem our qualified engineers will immediately resolve any issue.

Wood Pellets
Pellets consist of 100% dry (typically less than 10%) natural wood residues which are finely divided, force dried and compressed into small cylinders which easily disintegrate. These cylinders are around 10mm in diameter. They have an extremely high energy density and have better energy efficiency levels than any other fuel.

Fuel pellets also offer distinct advantages:

• Pellets are one of the cheapest fuels on the market.
• Pellets mean that you no longer have to rely on unstable fuel prices which are linked to global markets.
• Pellets offer a safe fuel supply, as they are produced using local wood residues.
• Pellets offer a consistent calorific value.
• Pellets are efficient from a storage and transportation perspective being a high bulk density per m3 than wood chip. Good quality wood pellets have a bulk density of about 600-700kg/m3 as opposed to wood chip (assuming 25% moisture content) which will have a bulk density of about 200-350kg/m3 depending on wood type.

The downside is the cost of this additional processing reflected in the wood pellet price. Check our cost comparison chart for typical current prices.

Wood Chip 

Wood harvested from many sources can be chipped to provide fuel for biomass boilers. Wood chips must be no larger than 16mm. When using wood chip, consideration must be given to moisture content, wood type, chip size as well as transport, storage and feeding systems. The efficiency of the wood is linked closely to the moisture content of the wood when it is burnt in the boiler.

We have a firm commitment to technical innovation and strive to be constantly benefiting our customers with products which are improved constantly with any new technology. Our success lies on our ability to provide superior thermal technology depending on high quality and advanced solutions such as wood pellet boilers.

Currently, the normal way of heating the family home or commercial building is with a central heating unit that is usually powered by gas or oil. By changing and using wood pellets or wood chips in the heating of the property there can be considerable savings.

Mainly used in commercial organisations at the moment, wood chip boilers can be used for the heating of a block of flats, office, shopping centre or airport complexes, or similar size buildings. Wood chips, which can be for many different sources, are delivered by lorry directly to the site and usually deposited into a hopper or silo. It is really important that the wood chips are of a specific size and are dried to the correct level of 25% moisture content. This is essential to ensure the optimum efficiency of the fuel. Another major consideration is that the wood chips must consistently be of the correct size in order to reduce any risk of the fuel feed system jamming and the resultant loss of efficiency which may cause the control to trip out.

Wood pellet boilers are 100% dry wood residue which have been chopped extremely small, and then are force dried and compressed into small pellets. They are highly energy efficient and together with a high level density have the best energy efficiency of any fuel. They are also one of the cheapest fuels currently available and don't rely on the vagaries of the global fuel markets. The only obvious downside is in the cost of the processing that is required to turn the wood into the pellets.