Specifications

Technology Overview
For domestic installations there are three common types of boilers:
Wood pellet boilers
Wood chip boilers
Wood log / briquette boilers
Combination boilers are also available which can burn one or more of the above fuels.
Wood logs have always been used in Ireland as a fuel source. Traditional replaces oer an eciency of
approximately 30%, which means that less than one-third of the energy available from the wood is converted
into heat for your house, with the remaining 70% being wasted. Modern wood burning appliances are
designed to burn wood more eciently, with the advantage that heat can be distributed through existing
radiator or underoor heating systems.
Wood pellets and wood chip boilers oer the convenience of operation oered by oil and gas boilers, with
the advantage of being carbon neutral sources of fuel. Due to the fact that wood pellets and chips are easily
transferred from fuel store to the boiler via auger systems and / or suction feed systems, it means that a
new wood pellet / chip boiler installation is eectively a “plug and play”, i.e. can easily be integrated into an
existing heating system.
Modern wood boilers are highly ecient (over 90%) and clean burning. As mentioned, wood boilers work
well with radiator and underoor heating systems, this is something to keep in mind if you are looking to
replace an existing oil or gas boiler system.
Wood pellet boilers
Most wood pellet boilers are fully automatic in operation. Fuel handling is convenient and requires a
relatively small storage volume due to the high energy density of the pellets. Storage can be adjacent to the
boiler itself or in separate fuel store. In both cases a feeding mechanism (screw / auger / vacuum feed) is used
to transport the pellets from the store to the boiler.
Pellets are automatically fed into the burn chamber with the boiler continuously controlling the quantity of
pellets coming through. Similar to conventional gas and oil boilers pellet boilers generally have automatic
ignition and continue to operate without manual intervention. “Higher spec” boilers are self-cleaning
eliminating all but the need for periodic ash removal from the ash pan. A small amount of ash is generated
(usually less than 1% of the fuel input by weight) that needs to be removed on a regular basis.