Modern society is becoming increasingly energy intensive, with European energy consumption increasing by 1 - 2% every year.

There has been much discussion in the political arena about the impact of fossil fuel consumption and consequential carbon dioxide emission levels. Human activities have contributed to the concentrations of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere together with those from natural sources such as volcanic activity and decaying vegetation. The build up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses trap some of the Suns energy resulting in a warming of the earths surface. This is known as the Greenhouse Effect. The consequences of Climate Change have been the subject of much speculation in varying degrees. The UK is responsible for the release of around 3% of global CO2 emissions caused by man, despite having only 1% of world population. International and National targets are now in place to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by reducing dependence on finite supplies of fossil fuels. One key element is to maximise the use of renewable energy sources. Other drivers for reducing reliance on fossil fuels include:

Costs:
Energy charges are almost certain to rise as it becomes politic to include the environmental costs of energy generation in prices paid by consumers.

Security of Supply:
The UK can no longer meet its total energy demand from indigenous sources. Whilst coal reserves are still potentially available, oil and gas are increasingly sourced from politically and economically unstable areas of the world. There are five basic categories of biomass material: Virgin wood, from forestry, arboriculture activities or from wood processing. Energy crops: high yield crops grown specifically for energy applications. Agricultural residues: residues from agriculture harvesting or processing. Food waste, from food and drink manufacture, preparation and processing, and post-consumer waste. Industrial waste and co-products from manufacturing and industrial processes. From here onwards we will only discuss wood as a biomass heating fuel. Wood boilers have a proven history of reliability. Other biomass heating fuels such as grain etc are reporting heavy degradation to boilers. This is due to the high levels of certain chemicals such as chlorine which destroy steel and stainless steel boiler surfaces Wood combustion is CO2-neutral, only as much CO2 as the plant accepts during the growth can be liberated at the combustion. Fossil energy sources liberate during the combustion additional CO2 that cant be taken up over a short period Wood combustion is CO2-neutral, only as much CO2 as the plant accepts during the growth can be liberated at the combustion. Fossil energy sources liberate during the combustion additional CO2 that cant be taken up over a short period. Growing 1 m of wood = 1 Tonne of CO2 is taken out of the atmosphere. The most common fuel for domestic biomass heating systems is woody biomass from local forestry and forestry residues or energy crops such as willow coppice. Forestry residues or waste or by-products such as from sawmills and other wood processes, can also be used, subject to quality. The most common and convenient forms of woody biomass for domestic heating are Wood chips, Wood pellets Split logs. Contrary to popular opinion, all wood species have a similar calorific value per unit weight provided the moisture content is the same but due to the differing densities they have a different calorific value per unit of volume and thus the amount of fuel storage required. The energy output from a single firing when using a log boiler varies from species to species. They key difference is moisture content when felled (high in alder, low in ash). Traditional logs are still widely used for heating. Logs are generally suitable only for manually fed appliances

and due to the longer period of seasoning they require a greater area for storage. Different species of wood burn slightly differently which is significant in purchasing decisions. All woods burn better when well seasoned and all burn better when split.