Brecks Farm, Pockley
Brecks Farm is a large traditional working farmhouse in the hills overlooking the Vale of Pickering in North Yorkshire. The farm has no access to mains gas and was heated by a 20 year old LPG system which was inefficient and becoming increasingly expensive to run and maintain.
Boiler system
The boiler is housed in a large utility and tack room in the farmhouse. The biomass boiler is plumbed into the farmhouse existing central heating system The equipment selected is a top of the range model from Windhager, Austria's leading manufacturer of biomass heating systems. The Bio-WIN range runs on wood pellets and is fully automated to use just the right amount of fuel to maintain the required temperature. As wood pellets are uniform in size and smooth, it is easy to regulate the fuel flow into the furnace.
Fuel storage and handling
The pellet hopper was purpose designed to fit the building dimensions and also to handle bulk deliveries. It includes an inlet so that a tonne of pellets can be blown through a hose directly from a delivery truck though a hole in the building wall, straight into the hopper. The automatic feed system for the Windhager boiler range can be adapted for use with individually designed hoppers such as this. The hopper is attractively pine clad and also incorporates additional utility storage
Fuel supply
The boiler uses 5 tonnes of wood pellets per annum, supplied and delivered by PureGlo.
Installation
The system was supplied and installed by PureGlo and commissioned by Windhager in February 2008. The equipment was delivered from Austria 2 weeks after placing the order. The installation and commissioning was completed within 3 days.
Financing
The Windhager boiler qualified for a £1500 grant under the BERR low carbon buildings scheme for householders
Cost savings
The boiler was a direct replacement to a costly system run on LPG.
Technical summary
| Boiler | Windhager Bio-WIN Exklusiv |
| Power rating | 26 kW |
| Energy efficiency | 90% |
| Fuel type | wood pellets |
| Fuel storage | purpose built hopper linked to the boiler by automatic feeding system |
Summary of benefits and conclusions
- The key benefit for this installation has been the cost saving compared with the previous LPG installation.
- The boiler is also much more efficient and reliable than the previous 20 year old LPG system.
- The system is simple to control and even has automatic settings which allow you to set the temperature lower during the night for a more comfortable nights' sleep!
- Once the thermostat is set to the required temperature, the only maintenance which is required to empty the ash box once every month in winter and every 2 months during summer.
- An unexpected benefit which the owners have noticed is an improvement in interior air quality as it has become less humid following the biomass installation. The scent of wood fuel is also a welcome alternative to fumes from LPG tanks.
