Modern Wood Heat: Biomass Boilers and Pellet Stoves

There are several benefits to using modern wood heating:

• Energy savings. If you heat with oil, propane, or electric resistance heat, you could save hundreds of dollars a year on your heating bill by installing a modern wood heating system. No need to pay thousands of dollars to get a gas connection to your home: a cleaner alternative is already available.
• Reduced carbon footprint. Using high-efficiency modern wood heating systems fueled by sustainably-harvested local wood will reduce your carbon emissions from heating by 50% or more compared to fossil fuel heating.
• Buy local heat. New York homeowners send approximately 90 cents of every dollar spent on fossil fuels out of state. By purchasing wood pellets and cord wood sourced from New England, you can keep more of your heating dollars in the local and regional economy.
• Automated, low-hassle wood heating. Enjoy the benefits of heating with wood without the hassle: modern pellet systems are fully automated to run without human interaction for weeks at a time and only need to be cleaned and emptied of ash once or twice a month. No need to load in bags of pellets or logs: a pellet fuel delivery truck will keep your home stocked just like with heating oil delivery.
• Fuel price stability. While oil prices have spiked from nearly $4/gallon in 2013 to $2.20/gallon in 2016 to around $3/gallon this winter, wood pellet prices have been remarkably stable during that entire period, as the pellet fuel economy is local and not nearly as dependent on global market factors. In fact, wood pellets have remained the equivalent cost of oil at $2.00 per gallon over the past 8 years. Reduce your vulnerability to price spikes while supporting the regional economy by heating with wood pellets.

Wood smoke contains particulate matter and volatile organic compounds, which can be hazardous to your health. Traditional wood heating systems, like fireplaces and older wood stoves, could emit sufficient air pollutants over decades to cause health issues. Modern wood heating systems emit a fraction of the amount of air pollutants released by traditional systems and must be certified by either the EPA or NYS Department of Environmental Conservation to be installed through the Renewable Heat NY rebate program. While a traditional wood stove might emit over 2.5 lbs of particulate matter emissions for every million Btus of heat provided, modern wood heating systems emit less than 0.02 lbs of PM emissions for every million Btus of heat–over 100 times less.

Yes! Modern pellet boiler systems are completely automated: no pellet hauling, no system loading, no buying pellets from the store. Your pellet storage bin will be filled by a bulk delivery truck a few times a year (just like filling your oil tank), and your system will automatically load itself from the storage bin. Of course, if hauling wood is part of your daily workout, there is no cheaper way to heat your home than with a wood gasification boiler or furnace.

Depending on what type of modern wood appliance you choose, ash cleanup can range from weekly in pellet stoves to once a month for automated systems. 

Modern wood heating uses plant matter that can be harvested for usage and sustainably grown back. Over time, sustainable forestry management practices enables carbon released from burning wood pellets to be sequestered as new trees are grown back, providing a net emissions benefit relative to burning fossil fuels.

A 2010 study commissioned by the Department of Energy Resources and conducted by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences concluded that replacing heating oil with wood pellet heating is among the most effective uses of wood for energy, providing a net emissions reduction relative to fossil fuels in five years.

Absolutely. Modern pellet stoves are not only more efficient and cleaner burning than older units, but they are highly incentivized by NY State through the Renewable Heat NY rebate program. Low and Moderate income families may be eligible for up to $2500 in incentives for a new pellet stove. Cord wood gasification boilers with thermal storage not only burn cleaner and more efficiently, thermal storage means no more fires in the middle of the night to keep from freezing in the morning. For a completely hands off system, central wood pellet boilers have been used in Europe and over the past 8 years have been made available in the USA. These systems have very little in common with simple pellet stoves aside from the fuel.