Has anyone any experience of wood pellet biofuel?

[graduate_owner]

Hi,
I need to change my ageing oil boiler soon, and am wondering about wood pellets. There seems to be grants for installation, plus money back on fuel costs, but the initial costs are high and I've heard tales about poor reliability and limited numbers of installers.

Does anyone have any experience of these.
And
does anyone understand the new government's Renewable Heat Incentive?

K

 

[gregmcateer]

K,
I've no direct experience, other than an interested observer, though these guys no a thing or two about such things;

http://www.bioregional.co.uk/

and they worked with these guys on Bedzed in Beddington, South London;

http://www.zedfactory.com/projects.html

We did some work with Bill Dunster, (BedZed architect), and he was always very keen to push the green agenda.

Lastly, this guy, (Tim Pullen), is very helpful and at exhibitions I've visited, is happy to give you plenty of one-to-one.

Below is a bit on the Green Deal, which could be useful;

http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/key-choices/green

HTH

Greg

 

[cambournepete]

The ones in our local DIY shed* pump out a lot of heat but are quite noisy as there's always a fan going.
They need electricity, so if there's a power cut they stop working.
Their fires don't look like a proper wood burner and I'd rather stick with the modest hassle of logs personally.
Some people I know swear by them but do mention they're louder than a wood burner.

HTH

*Mitre 10, same colour scheme as B&Q but with generally pleasant knowledgeable staff who help make shopping there a pleasure.

 

[Peter Sefton]

I did look into it a few years ago to heat our domestic barn and the workshop - at the time I received the quotes and specifications I could not justify the expense or room taken for pellet storage to make it viable. We do heat our workshops by burning the solid wood waste in the machine shop in a multi fuel stove and the sawdust and planer chippings in a burner to heat our bench shop - both work well but are not automated as the pellet boiler should be.