Pellets the renewable heating fuel that put oil in second place
Until the first decades of the last century, biomass was one of the main heating sources in Europe. The advent of oil with the facilities it provided, fatally led it to take second place.
But the counterattack was made with the wood pellets, which in the last 15 years have seen enormous growth. The pellet of wood were created for the urban fabric. It's about
Renewable energy source (RES), which offers thousands of jobs and participates in goals (Kyoto Protocol, etc.) The burning of CERTIFIED pellets, in regulated certified combustion machines, of high efficiency, has been proven to emit minimal pollutants into the atmosphere. This is also the reason why in many European countries the purchase of pellet boilers is subsidized. (Germany, Austria, Great Britain, Italy, France, etc.)
To the question "why should I use pellets and not oil", the answer is that as a fuel it is used, for the most part, to heat houses or other larger units. The use of this material requires a wood pellet burner, while in some cases your existing boiler installation can be converted to be ready to accept wood pellet use. The energy efficiency of wood pellets as a fuel is particularly satisfactory, since apart from the very good combustion and energy efficiency it provides, it has very low levels of moisture inside, which makes it particularly flammable and efficient.
Wood pellets as a fuel have a ratio of efficiency compared to heating oil of 1 to 2. That is, 1 liter of oil yields as much as two kilograms of wood pellet combustion. Therefore, one can easily calculate the large savings that can be achieved. Another important question is "what should I look out for when buying wood pellets?" The most important European bodies that determine, control, set rules in the European pellet market and beyond, are EN-Plus www.enplus-pellets.eu & Din-Plus. Pellets produced without complying with European certifications are often a risk for the consumer's choice.
An important role in the quality of wood pellets is:
– Calorific value
– Ashes / residues
– Humidity
The three main factors, which determine the pellet.
There are of course other features, such as e.g. what wood the pellet is made of, density, dust/grit, packaging
etc.