Automated chip, log and pellet systems are highly developed, efficient and low maintenance.

There are many types of biomass heating system to suit different scales of applications and different fuel types.

Domestic scale

At the domestic scale, biomass systems start with simple log and pellet stoves to provide heat to single rooms. Some stoves can have back boilers to provide hot water as well.

Log and pellet-fired boilers to meet all your space heating and hot water needs are also available at the domestic scale (but these systems can usually only be installed in fairly large houses with a significant space in a garage or outhouse).

A chip boiler may be appropriate at the very largest end of the domestic sector but sufficient space will be needed to store woodchip.

Log Stove	Pellet Stove	Log Boiler	Pellet Boiler

Community scale

Above domestic scale, logs become a less likely fuel of choice since greater heat output means more frequent refuelling.

If there is sufficient space available for the delivery and storage, then wood chip will offer lower running costs than pellet. Depending on the source and quality of wood chip available at the site, there is a wide range of chip boilers on the market: stoker burners, underfed hearth, moving grate and inclined grate. The former prefers drier woodfuels, while the latter types are able to cope with high moisture contents.

Pellet boilers have their own advantages: easier fuel delivery, less space required for fuel storage, and usually slightly better modulating ability than chip boilers.

Some boilers are able to operate happily on either wood chip or pellet but the boiler operating parameters will need changing if the site converts from one fuel to another. Another consideration for a duel fuel setup is that the delivery and storage options must be designed with both chip and pellet in mind.

Chip Boiler	Pellet Boiler

Larger scale

Larger scale biomass projects (above 1MW) usually require more careful planning to ensure a robust fuel supply chain is in place, to assess the potential impact of fuel movements on local traffic, to assess the possible impact on local air quality and to carefully consider the financial case and associated risk.

CEN provide a holistic service for larger projects covering the technical and financial feasibility as well as design services for energy centres, community and district heat networks, fuel and maintenance contracts, operation of plant and sale of heat and electricity to end users.

Please see our services page or get in touch for more information.

Pellet Boiler	Combustion Chamber

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