Briquettes, which are hugely popular in other parts of Europe, are just starting to gain traction in the United Kingdom. Not only are they beneficial to your fireplace or stove, but they are also good for your wallet and the environment. Why do so few people use recycled wood briquettes to heat their homes when they burn hotter and cleaner, cost less to buy, and are much easier to store and handle? Open fireplaces and wood-burning stoves are two common ways in which people heat their homes with wood.
Briquettes are popular in Europe, but many people in the United Kingdom, particularly in the south, have not yet given them a try. The people who sell them claim that once you've used briquettes, you'll never go back to dragging piles of logs off your driveway.
Briquettes produce approximately fifty percent more heat for each pound of fuel than logs do. Because they are made from waste wood that is produced as part of the furniture industry or other businesses related to wood, or in some cases, collected from skips, they also have strong environmental credentials (see image on the right). It is generally accepted that burning wood is a low-carbon alternative to burning fossil fuels. This is due to the fact that trees absorb carbon as they grow. Chris Goodall, an environmental writer, has done the math and decided to heat his home with wood pellets, which are similar to briquettes and are made from wood sourced in the UK. When the entire life cycle of the trees is considered, the Drax coal power station achieves a reduction in carbon emissions of more than 80 percent by burning pellets that are imported from the United States.
Sawdust and other types of shredded wood are compressed under a pressure of 10,000 pounds per square inch by manufacturers of briquettes, which results in the formation of the briquettes. They are almost entirely made from natural materials; the pressure causes the lignin molecules in the wood to melt, which then binds the wood chip and dust together. They are available in a variety of forms from a number of different vendors, and preliminary tests conducted by Guardian Money revealed that they perform exceptionally well in wood-burning appliances. One briquette has the potential to last for up to four hours, and heavy users will discover that they can save approximately $150 per year when compared to purchasing traditional logs.
Rowland Parke, director of the Wood Fuel Co-operative in Dumfries, Scotland, says that people in the United Kingdom are finally beginning to become aware of the advantages of briquettes. We have been increasing the amount of them that we sell, particularly over the course of the past year or so. When people try them, it doesn't take long before they stop buying logs from their local suppliers. They are tidier, simpler to store, and take up roughly one-half the volume of space that a log pile does. He claims that until you try one for yourself, you won't believe how much heat they are capable of delivering.
They are cleaner, easier to store, and take up roughly half the space that logs do. Logs are a more traditional option. You won't believe the level of intensity they provide. RowlandStove manufacturers recommend that users burn wood with a moisture content of less than 20%, according to ParkeParke, who also sells kiln-dried logs nationally from the non-profit co-ops Scottish base. ParkeParke also sells kiln-dried logs nationally. The majority of briquettes have a moisture content of ten percent or less, which means they burn more efficiently and result in fewer issues with the chimney and flue. According to Parke, the moisture content of logs that are sold in the UK is typically much higher, ranging from 20% in well-seasoned wood to up to 50% in other circumstances.
People with similar interests came together to form the cooperative in order to take advantage of bulk-buying discounts. In 2012, the company began selling briquettes, which have since become the company's most popular product. According to Parke, some of the briquettes come from the Verdo plant in Grangemouth, which is approximately 90 miles away. However, the majority of the briquettes arrive by ship from eastern Europe, specifically Latvia and Estonia.
Another ardent supporter is Stuart Fitzgerald, managing director of online supplier White Horse Energy. Up until fairly recently, it was possible to draw a line across the entire UK: customers in the south placed orders for attractive kiln-dried wood, while customers in the north placed orders for briquettes. This is beginning to change, in part because more people are becoming aware of the fact that briquettes can provide more heat for the same amount of money. According to e, you must store them in a dry place because they have a high rate of expansion if they become wet. Because they only leave behind about one percent of their initial volume in the form of ash when they burn, you won't have to clean out the stove as frequently. According to Fitzgerald, the best ones burn at such a high temperature that users need to be careful not to exceed the heat capacity of the stove.
Which should you get then? In order to determine which works best in a new user's stove or fireplace, they should experiment with a few different options. The vast majority of them, but not all of them, can be split in half, which is useful if you have a stove that is on the smaller side, while others expand more than others when they are burned.
Although White Horse Energy has a slightly lower price point, the selection is more extensive at the Wood Fuel Co-op. The latter vendor offers a pallet of Nielsen Briquettes for $205 for 960 kilograms; these briquettes are the least expensive ones of a good quality that we have found. Excel Briquettes, which are sold by this company, have a rating of 5 stars from customers and cost $265 per delivered tonne. In the meantime, the Wood Fuel Co-op has had 910 kilograms of its highly regarded Premium Hard briquettes delivered for the price of $267. The purchasers receive 91 10 kg packs of these, which are among the products with the longest burning times available and can be broken. In addition to that, it provides a first-rate pick-and-mix service.
If you are interested in trying Verdo briquettes but do not want to place a large order, the discount store chain Home Bargains sells packs of six briquettes for the price of $2.79. They are also being carried by an increasing number of regional coal suppliers.
energised
The mission of social entrepreneur David Ousby's briquette business, Cambridge Wood Fuel, is to divert waste timber away from landfills and convert it into a fuel that does not pollute the environment. The majority of the wood comes from the scraps that are produced by joinery companies, and this week, Ousby (above) was using the scraps that were produced by a theatrical set builder.
In the beginning, Ousby ran a service that collected waste timber and recycled shisha charcoal briquette machine into new products. This service offered affordable prices as well as employment and volunteer opportunities to residents of the surrounding area. Donations of surplus stock were made to local community organizations. After coming to the conclusion that not all of the wood could be reused in its natural state, Ousby began producing briquettes, which he refers to as Cambridge Hotlogs. His machinery can now produce up to one tonne of briquettes each and every day. We begin by shredding it, followed by compressing it, and finally making the hotlogs available for purchase at our outlets or for delivery within a 20-mile radius of those outlets.
Over the years, we have built up a loyal local following in and around Cambridge who like the fact that we are reusing waste wood that would otherwise end up in landfill. One of the main reasons for this is that we are able to keep waste wood out of landfills. According to Ousby, a lot of customers listen to the advice of their chimney sweep and start purchasing briquettes. Because they contain so little moisture, in comparison to logs, they burn much cleaner and do not cause the tar problems that are associated with burning unseasoned firewood.
His briquettes are manufactured to the standard set by Woodsure + Plus, and they are appropriate for burning in boilers that comply with the renewable heat initiative. They are sold singly or in loads of up to one tonne, and the price includes delivery. Each pack weighs 12.5 kilograms.
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