What is pellet boilers, their advantages and disadvantages

When organizing independent heating, the question often arises: "Which boiler is better to choose: gas, electric, solid or liquid fuel?" Today we will consider the advantages and disadvantages of one type of solid fuel boiler - pellet. This is one of the most economical heating appliances, which, moreover, is serviced and cleaned very rarely.

Pellets are pellets that are made from woodworking industry waste . This is 100% natural fuel: the production uses only ground wood, no additional gluing agents or other additives. Pellets are produced in special machines, where the crushed wood residues are pressed. Under the influence of pressure from wood fibers, lignin begins to separate, which bonds the fibers. At the output, small cylindrical granules are obtained which are either packaged in standard containers or sold in bulk. Pellets are characterized by an increased calorific value (1.5 times higher than in the best firewood) and a small amount of ash residue (not more than 3%).

All these characteristics of fuel allow us to speak about the high efficiency that pellet boilers possess. Their efficiency (efficiency) is in the region of 90%. A small amount of ash, almost complete absence of resins (for high-quality raw materials) and the ability to maintain a stable combustion temperature for a long time make it very rare to service such boilers. Clean out the ash will not be more than once every two weeks. And how often you have to Load fuel into the hopper, depends on the temperature to be maintained, the size of the heated room and the capacity of the hopper. Clean the burner will need about once every two months. As you can see, there is not much work. When working the boiler, there is a slight smell of burning wood, how comfortable it is - to solve each individually.

Pellet boilers do not require special installation requirements: the cost is comparable to the cost of installing gas equipment. But the difference (dignity) is that there is no need to invite controlling bodies.

From the ecological point of view, it is hardly possible to find a safer fuel. Until the technology of making fuel pellets was developed, wood wastes were transported to landfills, where they rotted for years, sometimes starting to smolder and burn. So from this side pellet boilers are good for ecology. And they produce less carbon monoxide than boilers on gas.

Buying pellet boilers, you need to take care of the place to store fuel. On average, you need two bags of 50 kg per day. If you buy them every day there is no time, you need to find a storage place, which must be protected from moisture. This is the main drawback of this type of boilers: a space is needed to store the fuel reserve. Pellets have very little moisture, so they maintain a high combustion temperature. When water hits their calorific value decreases, the number of unburned residues increases.

In the expanses of the former USSR, pellet heating boilers appeared not so long ago, and in Europe these devices have been used for more than 30 years. Therefore, the equipment is usually of European origin. At the same time, the domestic pellet boiler "Zota" is a good reliable alternative to imported equipment. The equipment manufactured under this brand is suitable for heating houses or industrial premises with an area from 150 to 900 m2 (depending on the capacity of the unit being installed).