In the UK, heating is responsible for 47% of the countries CO2 emissions. Therefore the Government has devised the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to increase the heat production from renewable sources.
Russell Finex has joined this initiative and has installed a new wood pellet boiler at their UK factory. Not only will this reduce their carbon footprint considerably but it will also ensure that Russell Finex makes considerable savings on its future energy bills.
The heat module has been retrofitted to the existing heating system of the Russell factory to help achieve low carbon heat with minimal fuss. It was a simple operation as the module arrived pre-fabricated and ready to be hooked up to the existing heating distribution system. Inside the module includes a plant room, with a biomass boiler, heating circuit for frost protection and expansion tanks, fuel store and ventilation.
The heat module will be using wood pellets as they offer many benefits over wood chips. Wood pellets are a form of wood fuel and are generally made of compacted sawdust produced during woodcutting such as saw milling. The pellets are extremely dense and due to their low moisture content allows them to burn with very high combustion efficiency.
The green boiler works by adding wood pellets into the fuel store, which is stored on a sloping floor, allowing fuel to be slowly added to the furnace. The wood pellets are added via a corkscrew conveyor that supplies them as and when it is needed. A sensor within the fuel store automatically sets off an alert when the store needs to be replenished, leading to more pellets being delivered. The wood pellets are burnt and heat is produced heating the tanks, which is then distributed around the factory.
Nigel Mainwaring, Technical Director, comments “With the new woodchip boiler the fuel will burn more efficiently, incorporating the most innovative energy technology. We will be generating heat for our factory efficiently and ethically while saving money in the long run”.
The UK government, in particular the Department of Energy and Climate Change, have made a number of funding incentives that have made it easier for businesses to cut costs and reap the rewards of going green and contributing back to the national grid. The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) was launched to accelerate the deployment of a number of technologies. The RHI is a fixed, index-linked income paid to the business for every unit of heat generated from a renewable source over a 20-year period, protected and guaranteed by primary legislation.