Pellets are made from compressed sawdust or woodshavings.
Because they are compressed, pellets offer a more concentrated form
of fuel than wood chips.
Consequently they need less storage space and are easier to
handle. Their manufacture requires more energy than woodchips and
the capital cost for production plant is high; pellets are
therefore more expensive than chips. Several pellet producers are
manufacturing and supplying pellets in Scotland, made from Scottish
wood.
Pellets can be used to fuel a variety of appliances and heating
systems. The smallest are pellet stoves with outputs of up to
around 9kW which are suitable for heating individual rooms.
Pellet boilers are available in a wide range of outputs from small
domestic scale to large industrial scale to heat schools or
hospitals. For the domestic user, pellets offer the most
user-friendly form of wood heating. Some suppliers in Scotland can
deliver wood pellets in specialised tankers, otherwise they can be
bought in bags of varying size individually or as bulk loads.