Wood burning stoves and boilers are ideal for homes. They are
most cost-effective where wood fuel
supplies are local or (even better) your own, and in off-gas grid
areas.
You can burn logs, wood chips or pellets. Logs and pellets are
generally the best option when your system requirement is less than
80 kW. Where equipment and storage needs to be compact, logs or
pellets are also the best choice. You can choose from a wide range
of stoves or boilers, depending on your heat demand and
usage.
There are two ways you can heat your home and hot water:
- Log/briquette or pellet burning
stove, heating a single room and providing an attractive focal
point. Some stoves can be fitted with a back boiler to provide
water heating as well as space heating. Larger wood-burning stoves
can also run central heating systems if the necessary plumbing
arrangements can be made. Stoves are easy to install if a suitable
fireplace or chimney already exists, or complete flue systems can
be fitted where appropriate, pellet stoves need an electricity
supply
- Log or pellet boiler connected
to a central heating and hot water system.
Wood chip boilers are an option for larger domestic situations
where system requirements exceed 80 kW.
Log burning stoves and boilers have to be filled by hand,
however boilers only need to be stoked, on average, once or twice a
day. Some pellet and all wood chip boilers have automatic wood fuel
feeders.