Biomass: what you can burn in the stove at home to avoid unforgivable mistakes

Heating is one of the most discussed topics in recent months, as rising electricity and gas prices will pull money out of Italians’ pockets much more than expected. But are household gadgets well known?

Maintenance of stoves, fireplaces and boilers can cause some confusion even for the most experienced, but with this article, all doubts about what can burn and what can not be clarified, in order to avoid any chance of spoiling household appliances. .

Biomass, natural wood and pellets

By biomass we mean a type of heterogeneous material of organic origin that has not undergone any petrification process. Wood biomass in its natural state can only be used in household appliances. Both stoves and fireplaces can burn pieces of wood only in their natural state, loaded manually. In pellet stoves, on the other hand, since they have automatic refilling, only natural wood can be introduced in the form of wood pellets or chips.

You may occasionally hear the term “log” but don’t worry as it is a simple synonym for cut wood or logs. To be more precise, however, the log has very small dimensions, the most common measurements being 30 and 50 cm. This type of wood is generally used when the humidity is around 25%.

What are pellets and wood chips instead?

Wood chips are made from wood “chips” obtained during the chopping of fresh wood, they vary in size and are derived from wood processing, pruning, and tree droppings cut into the timber. It can be used as fuel or as part of industrial processes, or natural, but it should not be considered a renewable energy source because it takes a long time before it can be produced, given the growth times of trees.

The pellets consist of small cylinders of compressed wood, with a diameter of 6 millimeters or a little more, obtained from manufacturing processes that consist of compressing waste sawdust. Thanks to this type of fuel used in the stoves, wood processing waste, which was previously almost completely disposed of, is 100% recycled, helping to save the planet.

In fact, pellet stoves are becoming more and more present in Italian homes thanks to their advantages, which allow you to get a warm home in a very short time, allowing you to save on the bill.