Wood Energy For Domestic Use
Wood energy is produced from wood and/or wood by-products. It is a home-grown, renewable, sustainable, carbon-neutral and secure source of heat, electricity and even bio-fuel.
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Ireland has excellent wood-growing conditions; growing and using wood as a source of energy will assist substantially in reducing the amount of imported fossil fuels, increasing our self-sufficiency and therefore securing Ireland’s long-term energy security.
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Wood as a source of heat only (rather than the production of electricity) has the largest potential in Ireland. This is a proven technology with very high efficiency and is locally available. A growing number of hotels, schools and private homes are changing over to wood energy. Modern wood-fuelled heating systems offer the same level of comfort, convenience and reliability as oil or gas boiler systems.
The Market
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Farmers are in a good position to benefit, both as growers of energy wood and as users of cost-effective wood energy. As most planting over the last 25 years has been carried out by farmers, most pulpwood (i.e., energy wood) will be supplied by farmers in the coming years. Wood fuel can be harvested locally, processed locally and provide a source of renewable heat locally. This is a win–win situation for the local farm forest grower, the consumer and the environment.
Wood Fuel Sources
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Ireland’s soil and climatic conditions are excellent for tree growth. Sawlog (large diameter wood of good quality) is and will remain for the foreseeable future the most profitable product that a farm forest can produce. Sawlog can be produced faster by thinning a forest. Large volumes of pulpwood (smaller diameter wood of lesser quality) are produced in early thinnings. This pulpwood can be sold into local energy wood markets, thus making early thinnings more financially viable, particularly in smaller plantations. Forest residues are at present not harvested and may provide another source of wood fuel. This however should only be considered if nutrient loss and soil damage caused by large harvesting machines can be avoided. Willow plantations also provide a sustainable supply of wood chip.
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Clean sawmill waste can also be used to generate energy, more and more sawmills are using this resource to generate heat and electricity on site. Contractors produce thousands of tonnes of wood chip every year from removing trees, hedges, etc., this could be used to generate heat or electricity if handled correctly. Wood waste such as wooden pallets, construction timber, fencing stakes, MDF, etc., must be avoided due to contamination with paint residues, glue, wood preservatives, plastics, etc.
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Please see below a list of our Wood Pellet Boilers and Piece of Wood Boilers
Domestic Wood Boilers - Pellets
Domestic Wood Boilers - Logs
