If you live in an area where natural gas is not an option, a wood boiler could be an alternative way to heat your home and water.

But how does the wood boiler work?

Is it a sustainable way to heat your home?

Modern wood boilers can provide an incredibly efficient way of heating your home and water, while reducing CO2 emissions.

Thanks to modern technology, the best wood boilers can operate with an efficiency of 90%, much higher than conventional boilers and electric heating systems.

Biomass energy is considered a renewable energy source as it comes from natural, organic materials such as wood and coal.

The wood boiler uses wood logs to provide heating and hot water to your home. As it only produces carbon that was originally absorbed by the trees, they are considered a carbon-neutral heating source.

Depending on whether you have natural gas or not, a wood boiler can cover all your heating and hot water needs, or it can be connected and used alongside a conventional gas boiler or an electric heating system.

The wood boiler requires manual feeding of wood, but is cheaper than other automatic biomass models.

Wood boilers are usually larger than a conventional boiler, so you need to make sure you have room to store both the boiler and the wood. The initial cost of purchasing and installing a wood boiler can also be high compared to other heating systems.

What are the advantages of the wood boiler?

• Low carbon emissions
• Fantastic energy efficiency
• Low maintenance cost

What are the disadvantages of the wood boiler?

• More expensive to purchase and install compared to gas, oil or electric boilers
• They are larger in volume than a conventional gas or oil boiler
• You will need additional storage space for the wood
• It is unsuitable for apartments and small properties in urban areas

Types of wood boiler based on their operating principle

Depending on how exactly the combustion system works, wood boilers are divided into:

Long burning wood boilers. The principle of burning wood in such systems is based on a sequential combustion process, which is carried out in a direction from top to bottom.

Wood boilers with a natural traction mechanism (DIANA-SKORDAS XB). In the models of this category, their operation is based on the simplest combustion method, natural attraction, with free exit of exhaust gases towards the chimney.

Wood boilers with electronically adjustable flue gas fan (DIANA-SKORDAS XBN). Their operation is based on the forced flow of exhaust gases with the use of an electronically regulated exhaust gas fan which forces the exhaust gases to follow the specific path of the exchanger releasing the heat generated to the water as much as possible.

Wood boilers with pyrolysis. Such structures are the most complex. The principle of their operation is based on the fact that initially the raw material undergoes a combustion process in the primary chamber with low levels of oxygen. The process products are a flammable gas which is ignited in the secondary chamber.