Now, however, things have radically changed, and thanks to technological advances in recent years, boilers that use pellets as fuel can easily be considered a convenient, efficient, and eco-sustainable alternative to traditional gas boilers (generally LPG or methane; diesel boilers are now obsolete).
What is pellet?
Pellets (or wood pellets ) are a type of fuel that is mainly obtained from sawdust, which comes from waste products of the wood processing industry; a smaller amount is obtained from sawdust from forest firewood. The sawdust destined for transformation into pellets is first dried and then pressed into small cylinders with a diameter of approximately 6 mm. Since it is a biomass obtained from wood processing waste , pellets are rightly considered an eco-friendly material ; waste is extremely low because combustion residues can easily be used as agricultural fertilizer. The fact that the wood from which pellets are obtained is necessarily free of paints, glues, additives, binders, etc. makes this product significantly less polluting than other fuels. Another advantage of pellets is that their transport and storage are significantly simpler than those of wood .
Pellet boiler: an eco-friendly solution for heating and providing domestic hot water
Pellet boilers are able to ensure home heating and provide domestic hot water and the models currently on the market are just as good as the more traditional ones; depending on the user’s specific needs, it is possible to choose from many different types of pellet boilers; Artel , for example, a leading company in the heating and air conditioning sector, offers a vast range of models with various power outputs (18, 20, 24, 25, 28, 31, 34, 35 kW) with a ten-year guarantee.
The pellet boiler, in addition to using biomass as fuel, and therefore being an eco-friendly heat generator (its carbon dioxide emissions are reduced), is particularly versatile because it can be easily adapted to any type of heating system (radiant panels, radiators, etc.).
Another advantage of pellet boilers is that, if subjected to regular and correct maintenance (which is not particularly complex), they can easily last more than twenty years .
On the savings front, it should not be forgotten that replacing a traditional gas boiler with a pellet boiler enjoys a significant tax incentive (a full 50% tax deduction).
From a thermal efficiency perspective, the boilers have a high efficiency (ranging from a minimum of 85% to efficiencies exceeding 90%), higher than that of traditional boilers, although lower than that of modern condensing boilers, another economically and ecologically attractive solution, also present in the Artel product catalogue.
A frequent criticism of pellet boilers is their relatively high initial investment. However, this doesn’t take into account tax deductions and the fact that, in the long run, pellet boilers, thanks also to their long lifespan, prove to be a cost-effective investment compared to traditional and now obsolete solutions for space heating and domestic hot water supply.
