Everything You Need to Know About Biomass Renewable Heating

When it comes to looking for alternative ways to heat our homes, advances in technology have now enabled us to look at new options such as Biomass renewable heating. Biomass is a source of energy that is renewable and comes from burning wood, plants and other organic matter. While it does release carbon dioxide when burned, the amount it emits is less than that of fossil fuels. So, when it comes to heating systems, wood pellets, chips or logs can be burned to add warmth to a single room or to power central heating.

A stove can be used to burn logs or pellets that can heat one single room and a back boiler can be added to heat water. A boiler burns pellets, chips or logs and can be connected to a central heating and hot water system. This means that a wood-fuelled biomass boiler could help you to save as much as £700 per year, what’s more, you’ll also be doing your bit to help the environment.

If you choose to have a biomass boiler installed, you may be eligible for payments for the heat that you produce through the Renewable Heat Incentive.

If you want to access the support, you must have biomass fuel that is sourced from a supplier that is on the list of Biomass Suppliers. It is worth ensuring that your chosen supplier is on the list before agreeing to a long-term contract as this could mean that you have agreed to fuel from a supplier who is not on the list and that could mean missing out on the incentive and any available financial help.

It’s really important that biomass boilers and stoves remain clean and are swept regularly to remove ash. While the quantities of ash are low, which is less than one percent of fuel volume, you will still need to make sure that you empty the ash bin on a weekly basis.

However, some appliances and boilers, in particular, will have self-cleaning systems included, that collect the ash from the combustion grate and the heat exchange tubes. Should there be no automatic cleaning system in place, then the boiler will need to be shut down periodically so that you can do this manually. If it is not cleaned regularly, the ash will build up and will then cause the system to underperform and could even result in boiler failure and shutdown. In fact, some boilers will include a mechanism that compresses the ash which can help to reduce the number of times that you will be required to empty the bin. If you have automatic ash removal and heat exchanger cleaning then the only real maintenance that you will be required to do is an annual maintenance check and occasional ash removal. If you have a wood-burning stove or boiler, then the chimney and flue will need to be cleaned regularly to remove soot deposits and prevent blockages. It is recommended that this is done twice per year, especially before the heating seasons as this will ensure that the flue has been checked for birds nests. It should also be completed at the end of the heating season as this will prevent soot deposits from sitting in the chimney during dormant periods.