The problem of heating houses worries homeowners at all times. Many people today install solid fuel boilers, which can use both wood and biofuel. In this article we will try to show what is more profitable – pellets or firewood. Of course, the new fuel will require the installation of a special boiler, and a conventional stove will have to be abandoned. If you have the means, you can purchase special boilers, although they are much more expensive than solid fuel options.

Firewood is a traditional fuel

First of all, firewood harvested from trees of various species is suitable for heating. They differ in structure and ability to transfer heat. The performance of the boiler will depend on this. The calorific value of firewood varies depending on the type:

• 1600-3200 kilocalories, with average humidity up to 12 percent.
• If this humidity indicator is higher, from 40 to 50 percent, then the calorific value decreases.

Moreover, fuel with high humidity You will have to dry it first. This can be done by placing the stored fuel in special rooms with good ventilation.

Firewood is not cheap. For example, in the Moscow region per cubic meter you will have to pay at least 2 thousand rubles. If the firewood is split and well dried, then its cost is in the range of 4-5 thousand. It should be noted that when burned, firewood produces a large percentage of ash.

What are pellets?

For production, waste obtained from wood processing is used. Knots, currants, branches, shavings are used. This waste is compressed into special equipment, obtaining peculiar granules in the shape of cylinders white. Better quality solid fuel is obtained if waste from different types of wood is used. It is worth noting that both firewood and pellets are environmentally friendly fuel.

Russian manufacturers use pine, aspen, and birch. The calorific value of fuel from the waste of these rocks is from 4500 to 5000 kilocalories. If beech or oak sawdust was used, then from 5500 to 6000 kilocalories. Another factor that plays in favor of modern solid fuel and choice - pellets or firewood - cost. When purchasing 1000 kg of biofuel you will have to pay a little more than 5 thousand 500 rubles. The benefit is obvious, since a ton of pellets contains approximately 4 cubic meters of firewood. You pay 6,000 rubles. And for 4 cubic meters of firewood you will have to pay about 16 thousand. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of firewood is much lower, and you will have to take out a considerable amount of ash! But after pellets there is practically no ash left.

How accessible are traditional and new fuels today: which is better, firewood or pellets?

If you decide what better firewood or pellets, then in many respects pellets are superior to traditional fuel. But in terms of availability today, firewood remains more affordable.

1. After all, people living in areas where forests grow save significantly own funds, without buying fuel, but procuring it on our own. And purchased firewood will also be much lower in cost.

Moreover, today this traditional fuel can be purchased in the right amount almost anywhere. But biofuel can still be bought only in specialized stores, and not in all, but only in major cities. Villages still prefer a fuel that is more convenient and closer to them – wood. And the quality of some Russian ones does not yet cause much delight. It often does not at all correspond to the high cost.

1. There is one more factor that is not yet in favor of the new granular fuel. To heat a room with pellets, you will need to purchase a special boiler. The cost of this heating equipment quite high compared even to solid fuel boilers, in which fuel briquettes can be used.
2. The cheapest pellet boilers You can buy it for a hundred thousand! Not every Russian in our difficult time can afford such a high price. The heat output of the boiler is much higher, and so is the fuel consumption. It is clear that any things pay off over time, but in in this case it will take about ten years.

In terms of calorific value, pellets are more profitable, but so far wood remains the most popular fuel.

Fireplaces, stoves

Various types of fuel are used for heating, but new developments have also appeared, including pellets. Pellets are produced from various wastes: husks, straw, paper, rice husk, sawdust, end trimmings, branches and other wood waste.

But let's try to find out what is better: regular firewood or pellets? Various websites provide figures about heat transfer, and of these figures, although pellets are more expensive, their efficiency is incomparably higher.

Understanding this issue, I would like to say that firewood cannot be fed into the firebox and burned in it automatically. They need to be regularly and very often thrown into the combustion chamber. And this is the most positive plus if you have a pellet boiler installed, which ensures uniform heating of the house around the clock.

In addition, burning wood requires more energy, because... The humidity of even dry firewood reaches 30%. that is, firewood consists of 30% water, but pellets have a moisture content of no more than 5%-9% and much less heat is required to evaporate this moisture. Hence the increase in efficiency when burning pellets.

The issue of storing fuel for the winter is also important, since storing firewood requires much more space, because their density is lower than that of pellets. It should be noted that pellets are so much denser than firewood that they sink in water.

Undoubtedly, there is a minus which lies in the price of pellets, because their cost is higher than firewood from 15 to 30 percent, but as mentioned above, they have higher efficiency.

So it’s up to you to heat a regular boiler with pellets or wood; as for boilers for pellets, the issue has been resolved.
Author RVT

To calculate, you need to know the following. Any firewood: birch, spruce, aspen with the same humidity have approximately the same calorific value. Although there is an opinion that aspen firewood produces little heat - this is a misconception, the difference in the calorific value of different types of wood does not exceed 3% (the smallest for aspen, the largest for pine, among the most common types of wood). middle lane). This opinion is due to the fact that aspen has the lightest wood and, with the same volume, it actually produces less heat than birch, which has the densest wood.
Firewood is measured in dense and folded cubic meters. A dense cubic meter is an abstract cube made of wood with sides of 1 meter each, i.e. wood without air gaps. A folded cubic meter is the geometric volume of a real cubic shaped woodpile with sides of 1 meter, i.e. There is air between the logs. In practice, you can also encounter the so-called. bulk cubic meter is the volume of logs in the back or in a dumped, unstacked pile.
Firewood sellers often take advantage of buyers’ ignorance and, citing current prices They sell folded or bulk cubic meters of firewood at the price of a dense one.

Conversion factors (approximate):
dense / pleated = 1.0 / 1.3
dense / bulk = 1.0 / 1.7

The humidity of well-dried firewood is about 20% ( relative humidity). The calorific value of birch at this humidity is approximately 3600 kcal/kg.

The density of birch at 20% humidity is approximately 550 kg/density meter.

Total: 1 dense cubic meter of birch firewood = 550 kg = 1980 Mcal
1 folded cubic meter = 423 kg = 1523 Mcal
1 bulk meter = 323 kg = 1163 Mcal

Those. 1 ton of pellets (4200 Mcal) is equal in calorific value
2.12 dense cubic meters of birch firewood;
2.76 folded cubic meters;
3.61 bulk cubic meters.

For spruce and pine firewood, approximately 20% must be added to these data, and for aspen firewood, approximately 30% (due to their lower density).

To accurately calculate the ratio of the cost of heat contained in firewood and pellets, substitute the price of firewood in your locality (Just keep in mind that firewood from freshly cut wood has a humidity of about 50% and a calorific value of about 1930 kcal/kg, i.e. almost 2 times less than dry firewood and reduce the service life of the boiler ).

And one more point: the efficiency of a good pellet boiler is 93%, a Russian stove is 25-40%, a wood-burning boiler is 40-80%, so when comparing a wood-burning and a pellet boiler, feel free to multiply the results by 2 in favor of the pellet boiler.

Here approximate calculation in Belarus as of January 2014, after calling several companies the following was obtained: 1 folded cubic meter of birch firewood natural humidity(alder and oak are more expensive) costs 550,000 rubles.

When calculating, we get: 1 stacked cubic meter of firewood with natural humidity (50%) = 0.65 tons x 1930 kcal/kg = 1.255 Gcal. = 550,000 rub.
1 ton of pellets x 4200 kcal/kg = 4.2 Gcal = 1,300,000 rub. (pellets of our production in bags).

For objectivity, it is necessary to add that firewood is more common today, therefore it is easier to buy and delivery of firewood is cheaper today, but pellets are more convenient to store, and if you use a pellet boiler, you are freed from the role of a stoker.

Hello dear readers and subscribers, Andrey Noak is in touch! Today I will tell you pellets or firewood, which is more profitable?

I was prompted to write this article by a statement from a friend: “Whatever they can come up with to make money from ordinary people. In fact, they are beneficial to the manufacturer, they bring money, and ordinary people they are neither cold nor hot.” This expression really hurt me and I answered him very beautifully and delicately. Want to know how? Read the article further!

The confrontation between pellets, gas and firewood is constantly gaining momentum. And if everything is clear with gas, when will the areas be gasified? Then in areas with autonomous heating Many local residents are counting ten times whether to install a pellet boiler or continue to heat with wood?

Let's put all the “Is” in this dispute.

Aesthetic side

• Automatic fuel supply, automatic adjustment temperature of the coolant or in the room, all this can be achieved at. Heating with wood needs to be constantly monitored, but there is also a nuance here in the form of modern long-burning boilers Link, which have a loading hopper of logs, automatic long burning maintaining the required temperature;
• Smaller areas for large quantity energy, one ton of pellets replaces about 3.5 cubic meters of firewood. And if in specialized bunkers, then it’s generally super convenient;

Pos 1. - unloading from the vehicle using a fan. Pos. 2 supply from the warehouse to the boiler. Pos. 3 - pellet boiler. Pos. 4 - boiler with double circuit.

From all of the above, we can conclude that pellets are more convenient for heating. No one will argue with this, not even my friend, but firewood is more practical and cheaper. Let's consider our question further.

Financial side

Let's look at the financial side:

Of course, everyone understands that it is more convenient to heat with pellets, but the cost of converting from firewood to pellets worries every owner. And this is one of the important points. Many owners are afraid that they will have to demolish the wood-burning stove, but in some houses this is half the living space!

• In fact, today everything is much simpler, it is enough to replace the grates and attach them to old stove pellet burner.
• The next point that worries the owner is - is it cheaper to heat with pellets or logs? The arithmetic here is simple, one ton of pellets replaces 3.5 cubic meters of firewood. If pellets in a store cost 6,000 rubles per ton, then a cubic meter of split firewood costs around 1.5 – 2 thousand rubles. According to all calculations, this is approximately the same. The difference can only be at a specific place, where prices may be slightly different from what I indicated. Therefore, here everyone can calculate everything themselves.
• If we take the production of heating from scratch, it will cost 5–8 thousand rubles more than a new wood-burning boiler.

My services

If you are going to make your own or are going to install pellet heating, then you will just need high-quality information on how to do it correctly and better. Why do I say this because I know how often things are organized poorly. So, in order not to get burned, I offer consulting services. You can contact SUPPORT and get quality information.

Video on the topic

conclusions

I have given information that needs to be processed. Gave advantages of pellets over firewood and vice versa. For each case you need to choose your own best option. For example, I would not install a pellet boiler in a village where everything is heated with wood, which is available for practically nothing. Just like in a large cottage in the suburbs I would not heat it with wood, since it would be much more convenient for me to heat a large area with pellets.

No one will decide for you what exactly you need. So go ahead and good luck to you. Oh, and by the way, I forgot about the answer to my friend. And I answered my friend like this: “If it weren’t beneficial for the consumer, then everyone would have gone bankrupt long ago, try to get you from a Mercedes to a Muscovite and will you get in?”

Good luck and see you again, Andrey Noak was with you!

Not long ago, an alternative fuel for lighting stoves appeared - fuel briquettes, which are positioned as an analogue regular firewood, but with better calorific characteristics. In order not to be unfounded, we decided to compare the capabilities of wood and European firewood, evaluate their technical characteristics, nuances of use and determine whether fuel briquettes or firewood are better for the consumer, which is more profitable.

Comparing firewood and fuel briquettes

Heating with eurowood

I would like to immediately note that ordinary firewood and modern briquettes are a priori different types fuel, although their operating principle is identical. (Fuel briquettes are closer in nature to coal.) Ordinary firewood has been used for a very long time, but European firewood still has to prove its worth.

By the way, fuel briquettes received the original name “Eurofirewood” due to their similarity with classic firewood both in shape and technical characteristics.

Modern fuel briquettes are produced from food and natural waste. Wood (sawdust, shavings, wood dust, branches and even leaves), straw remaining after processing grain crops (wheat, rye, corn), husks and husks of seeds, nut shells, peat, and in rare cases even manure are actively used. When burning such materials, no emissions are released. harmful substances for humans and environment. No other ingredients are added to fuel briquettes.

Fuel briquettes from various materials

Carefully prepared and crushed raw materials are subjected to thermal pressing, during which excess moisture, the material is held together and becomes dense and strong. Depending on the type of production, all fuel briquettes can be divided into three classes:

1. Simplest - .
2. More advanced - Nestro fuel briquettes.
3. The most modern are Pini-Kay fuel briquettes.

These types differ fuel briquettes by shape, method of final processing (sometimes there is firing to give the final shape and protection from moisture), level of density, which largely depends on the shape of the briquette itself. The composition of Eurowood always remains the same, without adding third-party elements.

Why is Euro firewood so good? Let’s look at its main advantages:

• Created by pressing using high temperature, Euro firewood has high density and low humidity. That is why the burning time of fuel briquettes is much longer than that of firewood. The level of heat transfer from briquettes is twice as high, which is explained by the same technical characteristics. Ordinary firewood, dried during the year, has a moisture content of about 20%, fresh wood 40-50%, and for fuel briquettes the same figure is 8-9%.
• Made on professional equipment having correct form and good packaging, fuel briquettes are more compact, convenient and easy to store. At the same time, as we have already said, they burn longer and give off more heat than firewood, which means the fuel supply may be smaller. Heating a house with fuel briquettes in Europe is considered a normal practice, moderately economical. In Russia, wood is traditionally used.

Fuel briquettes of the correct shape

• Using fuel briquettes is extremely simple; the technology for burning them is no different from ordinary firewood. You could even say that they are safer to use since the level of fire and its operation can be controlled.
• When storing firewood in the house there is always a lot of garbage, but the briquettes are tightly packed in cellophane and loaded into the oven entirely.
• Eurowood burns with a stable fire, it does not spark or smoke, and the amount of smoke emitted can be called minimal. , you can regulate the intensity of fuel combustion. A small amount of smoke allows you to save on cleaning the chimney from soot, and also allows the use of such fuel in black baths.
• After using fuel briquettes, very little ash remains, approximately 1% of the total volume of fuel. Unlike firewood, briquettes burn almost completely.
• With due skill and suitable equipment, Can . At first glance, the task seems impossible, but upon detailed analysis everything turns out to be very simple. In the future, such production will help significantly save the budget on fuel.

Simple cellophane packaging for fuel briquettes

Having considered the advantages of fuel briquettes, we move on to the disadvantages that also exist:

• Having a high density, European firewood takes a long time to burn in the firebox. When studying whether it is better to heat a stove, with wood or briquettes, you should definitely pay attention to this. Alternative fuel cannot quickly start a fire; it is necessary suitable materials. Even a good, dense, dry briquette takes a few minutes to warm up.
• When burning briquettes of some types, characteristic odors may be present. For example, the aroma of burning seed husks may not be to everyone's taste. The ash from Eurobriquettes smells absolutely disgusting, but despite this it is an excellent fertilizer.
• Fuel briquettes are afraid of dampness, even if they are burned on the outside. A product packed in cellophane is not afraid of moisture, but after removal from vacuum packaging the briquette becomes vulnerable. Due to humidity, Euro firewood crumbles and becomes unsuitable for use.
• Mechanical impacts for Eurobriquettes are also unacceptable. Even when dry, you can break them, especially if they are of poor quality.
• Fuel briquettes are not capable of creating a unique atmosphere of warmth, comfort and coziness that is inherent in firewood. They do not crackle, the fire from them is too simple, smoldering, and appearance leaves much to be desired, especially homemade options. From an aesthetic point of view, fuel briquettes are not suitable for use in a fireplace.

Burning briquettes in the furnace firebox

When choosing firewood or briquettes for heating your home, you should also analyze ordinary wood, at least for its merits.

Heating with regular wood

Firewood has been used for heating for a very long time. quality fuel for home and bathhouse, barbecue and barbecue. The environmental friendliness of firewood will always be 100%, and this fuel has plenty of other advantages. Let us note the main advantages of firewood, without delving deeply into this topic:

• First of all, I would like to say that the process of harvesting, drying and storing firewood is understandable to everyone. From an early age we know how to look for firewood, collect and light it.
• Lighting wood is not special labor, . Some types of trees can burn when high humidity, giving off heat.
• The cost of firewood is low, even if you do not go through the entire harvesting cycle, but buy ready-made logs or logs. (However, until the price comparison various types fuel will not claim which is more profitable.)
• Firewood is not afraid of mechanical damage and can be completely different.
• From an aesthetic point of view, the wood burns perfectly. They create a beautiful fire and soulful crackle, and when some varieties burn, a characteristic pleasant aroma appears. For open fireplaces, where the appearance of what is happening is important, this fuel is considered optimal.
• Substances released during the combustion of wood have a beneficial effect on a person, they calm nervous system, heal the respiratory system.

Strategic forest reserve for winter

We will also highlight the disadvantages of natural fuel:

• To obtain high heat transfer, the firewood should be well dried at natural conditions, which requires an extremely long time, for example 1 or 2 years. The best firewood considered wood that has lain in a dry shed for a couple of years.
• At long-term storage wood loses some of its qualities, especially aromatic varieties trees.
• Firewood takes up a lot of space; for its normal storage in the required quantity, it is necessary to build an appropriate structure.
• When using firewood, a lot of debris always appears (chips, bark, wood dust, sawdust).

Having become acquainted with the main capabilities of the two types of fuel, let's make a comparison.

What is more profitable to use?

It’s best to start the comparison with the price of fuel, because that’s what worries us the most. If we take average indicators, then 1 cubic meter Fuel briquettes cost about 2 times more than regular firewood. As we know, fuel briquettes can be created from different materials, but the price of firewood greatly depends on the type of wood. If you choose the most expensive fuel briquettes and the cheapest wood, the cost can vary by 3 times.

Note that most often there are two types of quality products on the market. High-quality briquettes are denser without cracks or chips, often burned on the outside. Less high-quality briquettes have lower density; they are characterized by a multi-layer structure, which is slightly vulnerable to damage. Such briquettes burn faster and release less energy.

Popular fuel for stoves in homes and baths

Let's compare the performance indicators:

• How long fuel briquettes burn is usually 2 hours, while simple firewood is about an hour.
• The heat transfer from fuel briquettes is noticeably higher, since the fire in the stove is stable throughout the entire burning time. Firewood usually flares up quickly and gives off maximum heat immediately, and then gradually fades out.
• After using firewood, a lot of coals and ash appear in the firebox, while practically nothing remains of Eurowood.

The main task is heating. They're burning for a long time, emit a lot of heat, and at the same time do not take up much space in the house, do not litter, and are also environmentally friendly and safe to use like ordinary firewood. At the same time, they do not create a full-fledged atmosphere of comfort, do not crackle and often emit an unpleasant aroma when burning. It is not for nothing that their name contains the prefix “euro”; this type of fuel was created primarily to save on heating.

If you use fuel briquettes for heating a house, then such a replacement of firewood for the stove is quite relevant, but for lighting a bathhouse, such a choice will not always be justified. As well as for a fireplace, the task of which is not only to heat the house, but also to create an appropriate ambience, which a firewood substitute clearly cannot cope with.

To evaluate the effectiveness of fuel briquettes in each specific case, experiments should be carried out; too many factors influence their operation. Only after being convinced of the merits of this alternative type fuel, you can give it some kind of assessment.

Recently, many positive feedback, indicating that it is more profitable to heat a house with European wood than with ordinary wood. We attribute this to the growing popularity of alternative fuels.