Biomass boilers offer a great heating solution that really does pay for itself and then some. Combined with the great savings to be made with biomass fuels and the government’s domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), it really does make sense to look at biomass for your home. It's an exciting bit of tech to get on and I strongly recommend it. As you can see from the picture on the right, it's not as big as you would expect.
First things first
Biomass boiler systems are not suitable for every property, small urban and suburban properties (especially flats) are highly unlikely to be able to accommodate a larger biomass boiler, hopper and buffer vessel, and are therefore better suited to other renewable energy technologies such as solar PV and solar thermal or even a wall mounted air source heat pump. Even with those urban and suburban properties that do have enough space for the biomass installations, there may still be access issues when it comes to taking delivery (and more importantly storage) of the wood fuel, normally delivered on a standard sized pallet.
For homes and businesses with the requisite space, however, biomass boilers are likely to be suitable and can provide substantial financial savings, as well as a significantly lower carbon footprint. Biomass systems with an output of 5kW to 500kW can be used in a variety of settings, both residential and commercial, from a small office building to large buildings such as hospitals, schools and prisons. Biomass boilers are also a particularly attractive option for properties with no mains gas supply.
Biomass Boiler
For those off-grid properties, biomass is a much cheaper fuel to run your heating on when compared to heating oil or Calor gas. Even when compared to heat pumps, the closest renewable competition, biomass generally wins.
While you can install a heat pump (air source or ground source), there is a difference when compared to biomass (heat pumps operate at much lower temperatures), which will mean that you will have to slightly change how you distribute your heat – by increasing the size of your radiators and / or consider installing underfloor insulation (the latter is not mandatory).
Therefore the big advantage over heat pumps is that you can install a biomass boiler with your existing radiators and hot water system as they operate at high temperature and do not require as big an output to provide the same volume of useful heat.
Even if you are on grid, you can still benefit from a biomass boiler – as long as you have the space and are not in a clean air zone (it is very restrictive to use in urban areas of London). Even comparing the cost of gas to biomass fuel can be favourable, especially when you factor in the RHI payments.
Insulation isn't as important?
As mentioned, heat pumps are the other way to get RHI funded heating, but because they produce lower grade heat, they don’t tend to work well with a traditional radiator system and you will probably need to install additional insulation to bring the heat demand right down to be worth it. Insulation is cost effective if you have a cavity wall property, but if it is of solid wall construction then you will need to consider getting expensive insulation, and the costs will start to add-up.
Biomass has the added advantage of not needing a super insulated house – although we advise on always trying to get the best possible insulation. Where heat pumps rely on high quality insulation to function effectively, costing thousands of pounds, biomass will work well in any home, with just your basic loft and cavity wall insulation as always, recommended. In fact, you will actually get more money as part of the RHI when your property requires more heat to warm it – but loft and cavity, if recommended on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), must be installed!
How much can I earn with Biomass on the RHI payments?
The RHI will pay you 12.2p/kWh and the amount you get will depend on the heat demand on your EPC. A typical property with a heat demand of about 20,000 kWh will receive more than £2,400 a year; or £17,500 over a 7 year period. That’s a lot of money and will cover the cost of the installation well before the end of the life of the boiler.
To demonstrate how the RHI payments can work with real properties out there, we have selected a range of property’s we have assessed and have summarised the typical heat demands and therefore the expected payments.
In reality to see how much your property will get, you need to look at the last page of your EPC. Look at the heat demand combined with the water heating requirements then multiply by the tariff (12.2p/kWh). Generally speaking, smaller terraced properties are unlikely to have the space required for one of these boilers, but for larger properties, the returns are very generous.
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