Specifications
Procurement and Purchase of
a Wood Boiler
At this stage you will have hopefully decided which type of boiler best suits your needs, and you will have a
basic knowledge of how the system might be congured. The process of sourcing and buying a system is
the next step.
High eciency makes economic sense
Wood boilers use the latest technology to control the amount of fuel and air released to the burner. Typical
costs of boiler and installation range from €5,000 to €15,000 depending on the size of the house, heat
demand, boiler type, boiler functionality and fuel store type. Initial investment costs will be higher than for
gas or oil systems but the running costs will generally be lower. Wood boilers compete especially well against
oil and LPG systems where the fuel costs are high and costs continue to increase.
What to look for in a best practice system
Eciency of 85% or higher
CO
2
emissions less than 200 mg/m
3
After sales service contract
Automatic cleaning
Good quality burn back protection
CE Marked
Operators manual supplied in English
Fuel storage for 3-4 tonne of wood pellets per year (allow up to 50% more for wood chips due to lower
energy density)
Pellet storage space of 2 X 3m oor area & 2.25m height (for domestic 15 kW boiler)
Boiler room size of 2m X 2m X 2.5m height
Installer and supplier are trained professionals
Investment return
Expected costs and pay backs will vary, however wood boilers typically cost between €5,000 and €15,000
supplied and installed. The pay back time for such an investment depends on the initial cost and also on the
cost of the wood fuel, compared with the savings per year you would expect against the heat source you had
installed previously, or against conventional oil or gas heating.
The SEAI domestic heating cost and carbon comparison tool can be used to investigate the cost benets of
wood heating.
Agreeing Cost
It is recommended that you agree a xed cost for the supply and installation of the system with your
chosen supplier / installer before carrying out any works. This may be quite straightforward for a new house,
however, you may need to accept that some costs might vary in installations to older properties where