Biomass Boilers

Biomass (Wood) fuelled heating systems burn wood pellets, wood chips or logs to power central heating and hot water boilers.

wood chip logs wood pellets

Heat and hot water from wood fuelled stoves and boilers

Wood fuelled heating systems supplied by us burn wood pellets, chips or logs to provide heating and hot water.

The benefits of wood fuel heating

• When compared to LPG or oil, a biomass boiler could significantly reduce your heating bills.
• A carbon neutral option: although burning wood does release some CO2, it is the same amount as was absorbed while the wood was growing.
• A good use for waste wood/available wood. If wood is available from e.g. onsite woodland, this can be used to fuel the system, making significant cost savings, and preventing waste.
• If a local chip/pellet/log supplier is used, this supports the wider local economy.

How do wood fuelled heating systems work?

• A boiler burning pellets, logs or chips is connected to a heating and hot water system.
• Wood burning systems can also be integrated into existing systems to supplement heating, being used when wood is available, and being backed up by a conventional system otherwise.

Our pellet and chip burners can use automatic fuel feeders which refill them at regular intervals from fuel storage units called hoppers.

Is a biomass system suitable for my home?

• For automatically fed systems you will need space for a hopper, in an area accessible for re-filling. For log fired systems you will need a dry area close to the boiler to store your wood.
• Do you live in a smokeless zone? If so then wood can only be burnt in certain exempted appliances. http://www.uksmokecontrolareas.co.uk/locations.php
• Do you need planning permission? You need to talk to your local planning department if your flue will extend 1m or more above the height of your roof, or your home is in a Conservation Area or World Heritage Site and you plan to install a flue on the main elevation visible from a road.

Costs and savings

Costs for a standalone stove are around £3,000 including installation. A typical automatically fed boiler for an average home costs around £9,000 including installation and installing a suitable flue. Manually fed log systems are slightly cheaper.

Wood costs often depend on the distance from your home to a wood supplier and whether you can buy in bulk. If you have your own supply of wood fuel then this will significantly reduce your costs.

Wood fuel suppliers in your area

Visit the Logpile website or see our Cumbrian suppliers list (opens in a new window).

If you would like to add your company to our suppliers list, please e-mail us.

Frequently asked questions

See our FAQ section or contact us 0845 459 2053 or e-mail

For maximum cost and carbon savings……

To reduce your home’s running costs and CO2 emissions further, consider installing …

Underfloor Heating for maximum efficiency in the distribution of heat and Solar Thermal (hot water) to provide your hot water requirements and reduce the demand on your biomass boiler.

Other options for bringing down your running costs include: Solar Photovoltaic (electricity) to power your home, Rainwater harvesting and Heat Recovery