Brighter Planet

Biomass fuels include cord wood, wood chips, wood pellets, and grass pellets. These fuels are locally available in many areas, and are carbon-neutral as the long as the biomass is grown and harvested sustainably (or is a waste product of some other process). Biomass fuels are usually cheaper per unit energy than oil or natural gas.

If you’re looking for a biomass alternative to a central furnace or boiler, a pellet stove may be your best bet. Large pellet stoves are extremely efficient at a variety of heat outputs and have automated stokers so you only need to refill the reservoir of pellets periodically.

Masonry heaters are also very efficient. These burn cord wood or other solid fuels and so are not automated, but they only need a small fire built once or twice a day.

Outdoor wood-fired boilers also burn cord wood, but are located outside of your home. This means you no longer need to bring wood into the house, but you will have to go outside once or twice a day during the heating season to stoke the boiler. Outdoor wood boilers are also less efficient at low heat outputs.

Small biomass stoves can be a good way to heat a few often-used rooms, letting you turn the heat down in the rest of your house.

Air pollution is a potential concern with any biomass heating system. Many towns and cities have regulations prohibiting or limiting the use of biomass for heating. Outdoor wood-fired boilers are particularly problematic because they are not required to meet EPA’s wood stove emissions limits. However, there are a few high-efficiency, low emissions models available. You should always purchase the most efficient model available.