Using wood as a fuel (known as Biomass) is becoming more attractive since the escalating cost of fossil fuels. Biomass is considered Carbon neutral, ie: the carbon released during combustion is offset against the carbon absorbed when it was growing. Because of this the Vat charged on biomass boilers and associated equipment is 5% the same as domestic energy fuel.

There are basically three options when it comes to wood heating.

1.Logs

2.Woodchip

3.Woodpellets

Logs are a cheap option. They are widely available and a log boiler is relatively cheap.

But it goes without saying that using logs to heat your house will be a very labour intensive operation.

Woodchip is becoming more available and is cost effective as a fuel, however woodchip is difficult to handle and store, the boilers have to be robust and so are generally quite expensive.

Woodpellets are widely available and offer the closest alternative to oil. They are easy to handle and store and although the most expensive of the three still offer a reasonable saving against oil. There is a massive range of Woodpelllet boilers available and prices vary considerably depending on the level of sophistication of the boiler.

The difference in density of chip and pellets is considerable, Based on the average consumption of a 25kW boiler,

the trailer on the Landrover is loaded with one months’ supply of woodchip, the pallet on the forklift also has one months’ worth of pellets.