Fuel Value Calculator

Fuel Value Calculator:

A while ago this handy tool for comparing fuel budgets was introduced to us.  We wanted to share it with all of you.   Skip past the equations if they don't mean much to you.  The information is very interesting to anyone using wood to heat their home.  Read through some of the excerpts below then click the link for the full file.  

www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/fuel-value-calculator.pdf

The Fuel Value Calculator is a tool that can be used to
compare typical unit costs of various fuels. Originally
developed by A.B. Curtis, Jr., of the USDA Forest Service’s
Southern Region, the fifth edition of the Calculator has
been published in cooperation with the USDA Forest
Service, Forest Products Laboratory, and the Pellet Fuels
Institute in Arlington, Virginia. The following information
is to be used in conjunction with the Calculator, which is
available by contacting the Forest Products Laboratory.

Cost Comparison

Here, two examples are provided to show how wood can be
a competitive alternative to fossil fuels. Based on typical
boiler efficiencies for fuel costing $3/million Btu
($15/million Btu), the examples show that you can buy
green wood (at 50% moisture content (MC) on a wet basis)
with the same heat content as natural gas or electricity for
$17.22/ton ($86.10/ton) compared with $2.46/1000 ft³
($12.30/1000 ft³) for natural gas or $0.010/kWh
($0.050/kWh) for electricity. The calculations are useful in
developing a budget for annual fuel costs...

Heating Values

The concept of latent heat of vaporization is important to
understand in order to know the useful energy available
from any type of fuel that contains water, including wood,
coal, and peat. In wood or wood products, this water is
referred to as moisture content (MC). Commonly, water
makes up half the weight of a living tree and, if wood is
used for fuel, its MC is a factor in determining its energy
value...

Residential Heating Example

During a heating season, between 50 and 150 million Btu
of energy are typically used to heat an average-sized home.
For comparison, the following chart shows an example of
expected annual costs of heating a home (assuming 100
million Btu of energy for the heating season) using natural
gas, propane, fuel oil #2, seasoned firewood, wood pellets,
and electricity. Note: Although natural gas, fuel oil, and
propane can be sold per therm, which measures heat
content of the fuel, the example uses volume (1000 ft3 of
natural gas ≈ 1 million Btu; 1 million Btu = 10 therms)...

For the complete Fuel Value Calculator click the link:

www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/fuel-value-calculator.pdf

Posted by Don Squire - Hawken Energy Outdoor Wood Furnaces

2010 Census Shows Wood is Fastest Growing Heating Fuel in U.S.

Rural low-income families the new growth leaders in renewable energy production

October 10, 2011 - Recently released US Census figures show the number of households heating with wood grew 34% between 2000 and 2010, faster than any other heating fuel.  Electricity showed the second fastest growth, with a 24% increase over the last decade.

In two states, households using wood as a primary heat source more than doubled -Michigan (135%) and Connecticut (122%).  And in six other states, wood heating grew by more than 90% - New Hampshire (99%), Massachusetts (99%), Maine (96%), Rhode Island (96%), Ohio (95%) and Nevada (91%).  

Census data also shows that low and middle-income households are much more likely to use wood as a primary heating fuel, making low and middle-income families growth leaders of the residential renewable energy movement.  According to the EIA, residential wood heat accounts for 80% of residential renewable energy, solar 15% and geothermal 5%.  

"Heating with wood may not be hip like solar, but it's proving to be the workhorse of residential renewable energy production," said John Ackerly, President of the Alliance for Green Heat, a non-profit organization based in Maryland.

The rise of wood and wood pellets in home heating is driven by the climbing cost of oil, the economic downturn and the movement to use renewable energy.  The Census Bureau does not track the reason people switch fuels but in states like Maine and New Hampshire where rising oil prices are squeezing household budgets, it is clear that many families simply feel the need to cut heating costs.

"The rise of wood heat is good news for offsetting fossil fuels, achieving energy independence, creating jobs and helping families affordably heat their homes," said Mr. Ackerly.

 

"However, Wood heat's rapid rise is not just from people using clean pellet and EPA certified wood stoves. Many people are also dusting off old and inefficient stoves and in some states installing outdoor boilers that create too much smoke," cautions Ackerly.

  

Over the last decade, the numberhouseholds using two of the most expensive heating fuels significantly declined: propane dropped 16% and oil heat dropped 21%.  Some of those homes undoubtedly switched to wood. Switching from fossil fuels to commercially purchased wood can reduce a homes heating bills by half or more. Those who cut or collect their own wood save  much more, using their labor to zero out heating bills.    

Currently about 25 - 30% of the 12 million stoves in the US are clean burning pellet stoves or EPA certified wood stoves, according to the EPA and other sources. Americans have installed about one million pellet stoves since the 1980s when they were invented.   

 

Wood now ranks third in the most common heating fuels after gas and electricity for both primary and secondary heating fuel use, but ranks fifth, after oil and propane as well, when only primary heat fuel is considered.  As of 2010, 2.1% of American homes
,
or 2,382,737 households, use wood as a primary heat source, up from 1.6% in 2000.  About 10 - 12% of American households use wood when secondary heating is counted, according to the US Census Bureau and the Energy Information Agency (EIA).   

The rapid rise in wood heat as a primary heating fuel is mainly a rural phenomenon, and to a lesser extent a suburban trend.  According to the US census, 57% of households who primarily heat with wood live in rural areas, 40% in suburban areas and only 3% in urban areas.

 

Click here for additional details and analysis on wood heat in the 2010 census. 

For more information like this visit the Alliance for Green Heat Homepage.   

Or sign up for their newsletter.

Posted by Don Squire - Hawken Energy Outdoor Wood Furnaces

Firewood BTU Chart

Click for a larger view

Thanks to Chimneysweeponline.com for the chart.

Posted by Don Squire - Hawken Energy Outdoor Wood Furnaces

When the Metric System isn't as handy.

Recently a wonderfully complete wood BTU chart was shared with me.  You can see it here:

http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm

Even better than the wood BTU chart, the comments.  Read them below.

BTUs? What century was your chart produced? I thought the world measured energy in Joules(J), Kilojoules (KJ), Megajoules (MJ) these days!

I am 70 next birthday, and can distinctly remember learning about energy in high school science classes around 1955~59. We did learn the BTU at first, but the next year we changed to Joules for energy, and were told that the reason was that all science throughout the world was done in metric units, so we better get used to it!

The next few years were an exciting time, as New Zealand changed over to the metric system for everyday use. By this time I was myself a high school teacher and we had the challenge of converting all teaching to metric units. Metric measurement is now universal throughout the country.

OK, I do actually realize you are in the US, and the US has farther to go down this road than any other country in the world. I will just say when the change finally comes your way, embrace it wholeheartedly. It may seem difficult initially, but once you are used to it you will NEVER want to go back to the old system. I have heard literally hundreds of old diehards utter similar sentiments a short time after they have had to change!

Cheers,
Graeme

We might be tempted to convert our firewood rating chart over from MBTUs to MegaJoules, but for one consideration: how many times have we been sitting at our favorite tavern, glass in hand, and found ourselves engaging in some version of the following exchange?

Bob: "Say, during my last sip I noticed that my pounder of Budweiser has warmed up exactly one degree F while I've been holding it. How much energy did my body have to give up to make that happen?"

Tom: "One BTU."

An easy exchange, no? Now let's try the same conversation in a NZ pub:

Kevin: "Say, during my last sip I noticed that my 0.453592 kg glass of Mac's Gold has warmed up exactly .55555 degrees C while I've been holding it. How much energy did my body have to give up to make that happen?"

Graeme: "1,055 Joules."

Posted by Don Squire - Hawken Energy Outdoor Wood Furnaces

Finding the Best Location for your Outdoor Wood Furnace

Finding the Best Location for Your Hawken

When identifying the ideal location for your Hawken, please consider the following:
Review the HPBA Best Burn Practices: http://static.hpba.org/fileadmin/PDFs/Tier_IV_Outdoor_Wood_Boiler_Best_Burn_Practices_-_MH1.pdf.

When possible, have the boiler door open towards prevailing winds. This helps disperse the smoke while loading the boiler. When possible locate boiler 30 to 50 feet from any structure. Consult with your insurance company for minimum distances. Always install boiler with a Hawken authorized chimney cap to reduce heat loss, keep rain out, to serve as a spark arrestor, and to disperse smoke. Locate boiler so that prevailing winds will not cause a nuisance for neighbors. Protect your right to burn wood! When possible, locate boiler downwind from nearby buildings. Install on non-combustible flooring with adequate support. Hawken boilers do not require a cement slab. Boiler feet may be set on 4-inch thick header blocks that are level, centered, and properly supported. Hawken boilers utilize a frame design to allow forked lifting.  The unit is very heavy; please use caution.  A lift loop is also mounted to the top of the boiler for crane type lifting.  A concrete pad is not required for placement.  Concrete blocks may be used instead.  Boiler base/feet may be set on 4-inch thick header blocks that are level, centered, and properly supported.
If pouring concrete, don’t forget to leave a space for the underground feed and return pipe.

Although outdoor prevailing wind and smoke considerations should be given first priority, your outdoor boiler location selection may also minimize the amount of purchased pipe required. Authorized Hawken underground pipe loses very little heat, so longer distances will not cause significant heat loss, but reducing distance will reduce cost of purchased pipe. Finally, keep in mind that the underground pipe must enter the home or building to be heated, and plan for this accordingly.

Preparing the Location for Your Hawken

When preparing the location for your boiler, please consider the following:
When possible, install underground pipe before delivery and placement of boiler. This simplifies the placement process. If installing boiler on a cement pad, it is recommended to install underground pipe before pouring cement pad. Make sure to leave a hole in cement pad (minimum 12” square) between rear legs for underground pipe to connect to rear of boiler. Installation should be performed by a qualified installer. For customers who require chimney extensions, insulated pipe is required.  Contact Hawken to ensure that the insulated chimney extensions you purchase mate with the factory installed chimney on your unit.

Posted by Don Squire - Hawken Energy Outdoor Wood Furnaces

Interesting How Some Outdoor Furnace Companies Always Try to Mislead You

I found this little article in the Oct issue of Alliance for Green Heat:

Hydronic Heater Ads Misleading Consumers

Marketing claims by a number of hydronic heater manufacturers citing efficiencies up to 99% may run afoul of the Phase 2 Partnership Agreement between the EPA and manufacturers of Phase 2 units. The problem stems from manufacturers using the EPA’s name to explicitly or implicitly endorse the extremely high efficiency numbers that had been reported by test labs last year, but have since been called into question.

A recent Wood Master advertisement running in the October/November issue of Mother Earth News states, “EPA DATA PROVES NOBODY IS CLEANER OR MORE EFFICIENT” in addition to claiming that Wood Master tops the list of “heaters rated by the EPA” and that the boiler is “EPA Qualified over 99% efficiency.”

Relevant language in the Phase 2 Partnership agreement includes: "Partner agrees not to construe, claim, or imply that its participation in the EPA Program constitutes federal government approval, acceptance, or endorsement of anything other than Partner's commitment to the Program. ... The Partner agrees to ensure that outreach materials describing this Agreement include statements that EPA does not endorse any particular product, service, or enterprise." For the full agreement: http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/pdfs/owhhphase2agreement.pdf

Now that the extremely high efficiency numbers obtained through the EPA Phase II partnership program have been discredited, the Alliance believes it is misleading to consumers for manufacturers to continue using them in advertisements for their products. The EPA should proceed with due haste to disassociate the Phase 2 program from such efficiency numbers.

Posted by John Ackerly at 10:07 AM 

Posted by Don Squire - Hawken Energy Outdoor Wood Furnaces