Running Costs and Grants

Running cost savings

Wood pellet and wood chip fuels are a cost effective alternative to oil and LPG heating.

The prices of imported natural gas, LPG and crude oil, the main alternatives to biomass wood fuels, have been subject wild fluctuations in the recent past. This situation has been exacerbated by fears over supply uncertainty, exchange rate fluctuations, overseas conflicts, political tensions and the current credit crunch.

While it is impossible to predict how prices will vary in the future, it is fair to say that running costs for biomass wood fuel systems are now at least on a par with mains gas. Moreover, as the pressure grows to restrict carbon emissions the likelihood is that the biomass cost saving advantage will grow.

As wood pellets are produced in the UK from renewable and sustainable resources, prices are not subject to the same level of fluctuation as heating oil, natural gas and LPG.

It is also worth bearing in mind that wood pellet prices are affected by the cost of transport of wood from forests and to market. Therefore the more locally you can source the pellets, the better value for money you will get.

Wood pellets purchased at £185 per tonne plus delivery currently offer 35% savings in fuel costs per kWh of heat compared with heating oil delivered at a price of 62p per litre.

The savings in running costs in comparison with fossil fuel appliances mean that wood fuelled heating systems will usually pay for themselves over 3-5 years depending on the model selected and your heating consumption.

Grants

Private householders installing a new domestic wood pellet fuelled central heating boiler can claim up to £1500 under the BERR Low Carbon Buildings Programme. Grants are awarded for approved boiler equipment and are subject to the property meeting criteria relating to insulation and planning permission.

Applications can be made online and payment is made once the installation is complete.

For businesses and public bodies the range of financial support packages is broad, regularly changing and subject to many variables including time of year and location. We are therefore not able to indicate the level of potential support that installations may attract and discuss this on a one-to-one basis with our clients.