by jbs021309 A3 — February 18, 2009—Businesses and public sector organizations could benefit by switching from oil, gas, and electric heating to biomass, according to Biomass Heating, A Practical Guide, just published by the Carbon Trust.
Although financial pressures and colder winters make reducing heating bills a priority, Carbon Trust has found in working with biomass heating projects across the UK that a lack of understanding of the technology and its potential benefits is preventing wider uptake.
The Carbon Trust says it is launching the new guide to help organizations that are considering using biomass as an alternative source of heating. The publication provides a detailed overview of biomass heating systems and fuels, plus a step-by-step guide to successfully implementing and operating biomass systems.
Biomass heating offers most significant cost savings in parts of the UK that are not currently on the gas grid, according to Carbon Trust. The costs of biomass fuels also tend to be much less volatile than fossil fuel, it notes.
The Carbon Trust provides interest-free loans of up to 200,000 to help small businesses upgrade to more energy efficient equipment, including biomass boilers. Particularly when replacing electric, LPG, or heating oil systems, the payback on the initial capital outlay can reportedly be less than three years.
