Log boilers
Modern log boilers are available which provide clean and efficient heating. While wood-burning stoves require frequent attention, log boilers are available which need to be fuelled by hand only once or twice each day. They operate at high levels of efficiency and have large combustion chambers. Log systems are applicable to all domestic-sized situations and for heating larger spaces such as village halls. Log systems begin to become impractical for heating requirements over 50kW because of the need to regularly re-fuel.
Some boiler models can take large logs up to a metre long, which will reduce the work of sawing logs. Stoking should take no more than 5 – 10 minutes each day.
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Automated Log Boiler
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The heat produced, during the relatively short burn time, is used to heat up water to around 90
oC which is stored in a highly insulated heat storage tank, called an accumulator tank. This can be used to deliver both central heating and domestic hot water to the house for the rest of the day, in a programmable way. A further advantage of this type of system is that the accumulator tank can be integrated into a system with different heat sources. For example the water could be pre-warmed by solar panels, or come from other
wood burning stoves or a
kitchen range, an electric immersion heater or an oil-fired boiler which could also provide a backup heating system.