Wood fuel is a competitive source of heat compared to most fossil fuels such as oil, and even natural gas when looking in the long to medium term. It has the potential to offer end-users affordable energy that to some extent can be insulated from increases in fossil fuel prices. It also has perhaps the lowest cost of all renewable energy technologies.
Although biomass installations often have a higher purchase price than fossil fuelled alternatives, the payback period for a wood fuel installation is often shorter as running costs are lower compared with fossil fuelled alternatives. The introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive at the end of November 2011 reduces this payback period even further. The RHI is a payment for generating heat from renewable sources administered by the official regulator Ofgem and paid for directly by the Treasury.
The exact payments will be adjusted annually in line with the Retail Price Index but basically smaller (<200kW) biomass installations will be eligible for tariffs up to 8.0p/ kWh falling to 2.0 - 2.7p for systems above 1000kW. For more information visit the Ofgem website here.
The table below gives a guide to the typical cost per unit of fuel energy for comparison. This is not the same as cost per unit of delivered heat which will depend on the efficiency of the boiler or stove, and may also include other charges such as service and maintenance for heat supply contracts. All prices are prone to significant variation with geographical region, order quantities, contract value and duration, time of year, delivery distance etc. The wood fuel costs are averages based on current English Wood Fuels rates.
Moisture content is a critical parameter for wood fuel. Most wood fuel boilers are designed to operate with fuel of moisture content of a limited range. Attempting to use fuel that is outside this range will result in the boiler either operating inefficiently, with increased emissions, or trip out the control system and fail to function at all. The right fuel is vital to the correct operation of boilers and stoves. Moisture has a significant impact on the calorific value of fuel as well as its cost.
Data February 2012
| Commodity (% Moisture Content) |
pence/ltr | £/tonne | Net Calorific Value | £/kWh | pence/kWh (Input) | |
| kWh/T | kWh/ltr | |||||
| Electricity (Domestic) | 0.120 | 12.00 | ||||
| LPG (Domestic) | 55 | 6.6 | 0.083 | 8.33 | ||
| Heating Oil (Domestic) | 70 | 10.3 | 0.068 | 6.80 | ||
| Heating Oil (Commercial) | 60 | 10.3 | 0.058 | 5.83 | ||
| Wood Pellet Bagged | 250 | 4800 | 0.052 | 5.21 | ||
| Firewood | 150 | 3500 | 0.043 | 4.29 | ||
| Wood Pellet (10%) | 185 | 4800 | 0.039 | 3.85 | ||
| Main Gas (Domestic) | 0.035 | 3.50 | ||||
| Wood Chip (20%) | 115 | 4100 | 0.029 | 2.93 | ||
| Wood Chip (30%) | 100 |
3500 | 0.029 | 2.86 | ||
| Main Gas (Commercial) | 0.029 | 2.86 | ||||
| Wood Chip (40%) | 80 |
2900 | 0.028 | 2.76 | ||
| Wood Chip (50%) | 40 |
2300 | 0.017 | 1.74 | ||
