Part 4  The Installation

Day 1 – The boiler arrives

and is installed together with the additional feed hopper and some pipework

Day 2

Pipework in house progresses and hopper raised so that augur would be at correct height.  Chimney started.

Day 3

Chimney completed and internal pipework continues.

The finished flue – quite tall but it has to conform to buildings regs.  It can’t really be seen from the road in front of the house.  Could always be painted black. 

Day 4

Electrics started and pipework completed.

Testing started but problem.  The open pipes leading back to the old boiler started gushing water.

 The cause was the return pipe from a house extension which connected back to a point close to the old boiler.  The new boiler is just the other side of this wall where the pipes disappear.

No heating tonight but we do have a centrally located wood stove and an immersion heater for the hot water so life will continue.

Day 5

Problem sorted – return line extension to join the new pipework.

New mains board completed with proper earthing round the house which was somehow missing. 

….. and finally boiler commissioned

The only small problem so far is that the augur downtube backed up.  The cause was that the downtube extended into the hopper and the pellet level never reached the high level cut-off switch.  Solved by shortening the tube and slightly lowering the high level switch.

Next blog, The Performance, will be delayed a bit so that some run-time experience can be gained.

Part 3  The Preparation

Getting a quote

I usually ask around but there aren’t any wood pellet boilers installed nearby.  In order to get the RHPP and the RHI (see Part 2 of the Blog) the installer must be MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) qualified.  The official website gives a list of MCS installers (http://www.microgenerationcertification.org/mcs-consumer/installer-search.php ) which you narrow down by selecting ‘biomass’ and then your postcode.  This seems to give about 20 within a 50 mile radius.  However, there are a number of different bodies able to issue MCS certificates such NAP (National Association of Professional Inspectors) or ELC (or Elecsa the Electrical Installers Association).  Now a boiler is a water heater and I would be more comfortable having a heating engineer with an MCS HET certificate issued by Hetas (the Heating Equipment Testing and Approval Scheme).  This narrowed the field down to 4 within 50 miles but two were close to the 50 mile limit. 

Why 50 miles?  Well the problem is getting them to come out to fix small problems after commissioning.  This narrowed the field down to 2, Vertdegree and Wessex Biomass (http://www.wessexbiomass.co.uk/ ), both of Chippenham.  The initial contact with both unfortunately only resulted in a response from the latter, which narrowed the field down to one - WB.  I contacted some further afield (Taunton and Tiverton) and got a response but no follow up.

A quotation means a full house survey covering existing pipework, electrics, insulation, heating demand and radiator system as well as building regs. and planning permission.  Also it covers space requirements and how the pellets are to be stored and delivered.  WB charge £250 + VAT for the survey but this is redeemable against the cost of the installation.  The survey was carried out soon after the initial contact and the quotation arrived soon after the survey. 

The design

The leaders in the biomass field are the Austrians and the Italians.  Grants of Devizes (one of the leading oil boiler manufacturers) are in the process of making a wood pellet boiler but haven’t got there yet and certainly haven’t built up a track record.

WB recommended the slightly cheaper Italian MCZ Red365 Compact 24 with a max. 25.4 kW output (http://www.red365.it/en/p229-compact.html ) over the more expensive Austrian Windhager Biowin (http://www.windhager.co.uk/products/index/view/categoryID/1/productsID/11 ).  The Compact 24 boiler costs around £4000 but together with all pipework, electrics, 5m flue and commissioning this more than doubles.   

Unfortunately our main electricity board, which was state-of-the-art in 1968, was too antiquated to allow them to sign off the job so that had to be replaced.   Also our existing radiator system is gravity fed and would have to be changed to a pressurised 1 bar system.

It also became clear that we needed a bigger fuel store as the boiler could only hold 70kg (less than 3 days in really cold weather) and would need filling every day -  no good if you want to go away for a few days in the middle of winter.  We added on a 200kg adjacent hopper automatically feeding into the boiler’s hopper via an augur.  This will give up to 10 days unattended operation in the coldest weather.

The grand total including VAT came to about £12,000.  VAT for the whole job is at the lower rate of 5%.  The quote was accepted providing it could be completed before 1st April, the deadline for the current RHPP grant of £950.  The RHI Phase 2 hasn’t been declared yet so it is something of a gamble as Governments have been known to do U-turns.

Quite a lot of money so it was off to the Building Soc. cap in hand!

Clearing the decks

Now the fun starts.  I have a nearly double length flat roofed garage adjacent to the utility room where the existing boiler sits.  Unfortunately it was full, and so was the fairly large loft, and so was the house.  I throw almost nothing away as there is always a chance it has a second life. Here is how the garage looked:

BEFORE

After 3 trips to the dump with a full high sided trailer, and two trips to Kennet Refurbiz recycling in Devizes (http://www.refurbiz.org/ )and nearly thee weeks later here is how it looked:

AFTER

The board shows the expected height of the boiler and the marks on the floor the location of the boiler and feed hopper just at the bottom of the picture.

Here is our old electricity board with new Solar PV controls on the right:

Getting the fuel in

Not too many nearby suppliers.  Forever Fuels in Maidenhead and White Horse in Newbury both claim to source from Andover and Bristol.  About 20% of the fuel cost is the delivery charge so the more you can order and store in one go, the better.  I just ordered 1 tonne to start with.  Here is how it looked:

Incidentally, the machinery to make your own wood pellets is not too expensive and a few houses on pellets could justify the equipment.  You need a good source of wood, a chipping machine, a drier, an extruder and a means of  bagging (and a bit of time).  No added ingredients (except some vegetable oil is suggested).  The energy cost of making pellets is about 2% of its fuel value (which compares with something like 35% for heating oil).

All ready to go ---> see Blog 4 The Installation

Part 2  The Decision

Why wood?

I am currently on oil which has just reached its highest price (about 6p per kWh).  There is certainly instability in the Middle East but, notwithstanding this, the Chinese and Indian economies are continuing to grow at 8% pa and the price of oil is likely to double in the next 10 years as they will increasingly outbid us for the remaining supplies.

There is plenty of gas but we are not on the gas main (a mere 3.5p per kWh), and never likely to be (planning for the decommissioning of the national gas grid commences soon after 2020 according to the Government’s latest Carbon Plan - http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/carbon_plan/carbon_plan.aspx ).   Calor gas is related to oil prices and is currently about 8p per kWh.

Heating by electricity is too expensive at 14p per kWh.  An air source heat pump with a COP of 2 would bring this down to 7p per kWh.  Still too expensive particularly as I would have to convert the house to underfloor heating.  A ground source heat pump should manage a COP of 3 or higher which would be better but they are even more expensive.  In any event electricity is still mostly produced by fossil fuel and will be for the remainder of my life.

This narrows the field down to wood, as coal is out of the question.  Wood chip is currently 2p per kWh but very bulky and would need a lot of mechanical handling equipment.  High grade wood pellets are between 4p per kWh and 5p per kWh depending on the delivery system.  Wood prices have lagged behind inflation in the last 10 years. 

The Renewable Heat Incentive for biomass is expected to be announced soon for domestic installations.  The commercial one is already in place and pays a tariff of 7.9p per kWh for 20 years.  If the domestic RHI is the same this will mean my heating bill will go negative!

Is there enough wood?

The area of woodland in the UK reached a low point of 5% at the end of the nineteenth century since when it has increased to 12% (25% for Scotland).  The majority of woodland is in private hands and is not managed.  According to the Forestry Commission (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-839EC6 ) just managing this properly would yield 2 million tons pa of fuel grade wood.  This compares with 0.5 million tons pa current consumption of wood pellets.  There are numerous other sources of wood from the timber industry which currently are discarded.  The more that wood is used, the more will be planted.  Foresters have a saying “the woodland that pays, is the woodland that stays”.

West Woods, Lockeridge - a working wood

Aren’t you still emitting Carbon Dioxide?

Well actually a bit more for the same amount of heat that would have been produced by oil.  Over time though the trees that are planted to replace the wood burned, will absorb more carbon dioxide.  This is because most of a tree is underground, and the carbon in the roots remains behind when the tree is felled and the ‘superstructure’ is burned.   The Government regard wood fuel as carbon neutral as the carbon is merely recycled.  It is not counted as part of the UK’s carbon footprint.

What is it going to cost?

Wood pellet boilers are larger and more expensive than fossil fuel boilers.  They need to be installed in an outhouse or lean-to as you need easy access to feed them and a dry area to store the pellets.  As a rule of thumb the cost is something like £5000 + £250 per kW depending on what type of fuel storage and delivery system you use.  I would need a 25kW boiler and a part automated fuel storage and delivery system which would give 2 weeks unattended operation in the coldest weather.  A manually fed boiler would give about 3 – 4 days unattended operation and would cost a little over £2000 less.  A fully automatic feed system with pellets in bulk delivered by tanker would work pretty well unattended for two months but would cost about £2500 more.

So what is my payback time?

The Renewable Heat Premium Payment is applicable for all wood pellet systems installed and commissioned between 1st Aug 2011 and 31st March 2012.  It may be extended but as of writing nothing has been announced.  The RHPP is a straight grant of £950.

The Renewable Heat Incentive is a tariff payment which is expected to be paid to all people who install biomass sytems from 15th July 2009.  The commercial RHI was started at the end of November 2011 and the domestic one is expected to be something similar.  The commercial tariff for small systems is 7.9p per kWh for 20 years.  On this basis the payback time is between 7 and 8 years.  Taking into account the cost of borrowing money, the payback time extends to about 10 years.

Conclusion

Living in a detached house in rural Wiltshire will become something of a luxury if oil prices double.  A biomass boiler will essentially remove part of this risk.  As the payback time is reasonable and we have the space, the decision to install a wood pellet boiler seems to be pretty sound.  A small district heating system based on wood chip and the existing RHI would be ideal, but local political problems would take some time to solve so I will have to 'go solo'.

Part 1 - Introduction

I am in the process of converting from oil to wood pellet to heat my house and will be posting a short series of blogs on the project.  They will be:

Part 2 - The Decision

Part 3 - The Preparation

Part 4 - The Installation

Part 5 - The Performance

Watch this space.

Nick Stedman

This new report from ACE and Unlock Democracy exposes the circumstances in which MPs and Parliament were given incorrect information upon which to make their decisions on national energy policy, specifically in relation to new nuclear power. 

The report outlines that, on the basis of the Government’s own evidence, we do not need any more new nuclear power stations in order to ‘keep the lights on’ and reduce CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050. It goes on to show that, on the basis of the Government’s own evidence, electricity generated by nuclear power is the not the least expensive of all lowcarbon technologies. In everyday terms, the building of new nuclear power stations to provide electricity is likely to mean higher fuel bills.

Finally the report attempts to assess what has gone on. Why the seemingly inexplicable decisions documented (i.e. the decisions in favour of new nuclear power stations that are not needed) were taken by successive Governments. 

The report concludes that what has gone on is nothing less than a corruption of governance. This corruption of governance can only be rectified if Parliament re-opens this debate, and MPs vote on this issue having seen the correct information. 

You can read the full report here...

Eonenergy.com are selling TV 'PowerDowns'for £3-00 each.

This is also great for your computer! Check out www.eonshop.co.uk

Degression is a new word to me, and maybe to you?

It means that the Solar PV starting Feed In Tariff is to go down each year to reflect the fact that installation costs are going to come down, and thereby keeping the financial return constant.  The tariff will still be linked to the RPI but each year will start at a lower level for new entrants.  The full degression table can be found here.

A useful guide to all tariffs can be found here.

I was amazed to read in this month's Scientific American that converting 2% of the world's agricultural land to 'no till' cultivation would halt the rise in CO₂ levels.

Furthermore, converting all of it would reduce CO₂ to pre-industrial levels!

Corn, wheat, maize etc. are forms of grass and are perenniels but mankind decided several thousand years ago that replanting annually leads to improved yields. The 'no till' movement is currently underway and has numerous advantages: higher soil organic carbon, better water retention, lower fertiliser use, less energy intensive and, most importantly, lower soil erosion but offset by lower yields.

The claim is made by Prof. Douglas Kell of the Bioanalytical Sciences Group of Manchester University. He is also CE of the BBSRC - Biotechnical and Biological Science Research Council. He has produced a calculator which can be found here.

This claim may not hold up in the UK because of climate factors. See Chapter 7 of the Fourth Carbon Budget from the Committee on Climate Change which can be found here.

I have not read all this literature yet but any comments, particularly by farmers, would be most welcome. BTW, the ploughing up of grasslands has been one of the major contributors to increased CO₂ levels, Wiltshire please note.

Four roadshows will run in Ludgershall, Market Lavington, Marlborough and Devizes.

Each event begins at 2pm and ends at 6.30pm.

The Devizes-based company has teamed up with Southern Electric, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, the Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB), the Home Heat Helpline, and local charity Refurbiz, to run the sessions.

The Marlborough event is being held at the Town Hall on 28th November and the Transition Town Marlborough team will also have a small stand there - so do come along and meet us.

The roadshows form part of Aster's Better off Green campaign, which the company is currently running to educate local communities about how they can limit the impact they have on the environment and save money.

I'm doing a trial on green coal from New Energy Farms in Marlborough.  This is a new form of a renewable energy crop.  I have some figures on pricing, energy content, bulk density, ash content etc but the proof of the pudding will be in its actual use.  I intend to use it in a wood burning stove probably along with conventional wood.  I will report here on how I find it (when the weather gets a bit cooler).

Meanwhile:

What is it?

Any energy crop harvested and compressed into a user friendly form.

The new local material being used is miscanthus (elephant) grass grown at Wadswick near Corsham.  It grows up to 8ft in height, is then harvested, dried,  shredded and compressed into briquettes.

It looks like this:                                 

How do you use it?

In wood burning stoves or on open fires, on its own or with other fuel.   I don't know whether it could be used as the main heating fuel for a house and qualify for the proposed RHI biomass tariff of 9p/kWh. More on this later.

How is it delivered?

In 10 kg plastic bags or by the pallet load of 50 bags.  It has to be plastic as it absorbs moisture and this will affect its burning quality. 

How much will it cost?

Not sure - it will depend on whether it's delivered or collected.  The indicated price for collected is about £5 to £6 a bag for small quantities to £3 per bag for a pallet load.

More data and results to come.  Watch this space.