Fireplace Pellet
Many of the new fireplace inserts are designed to burn fireplace pellets. But what is a fireplace pellet? A fireplace pellet is a wood pellet that is typically made from waste materials such as chips, wood pieces and sawdust. These materials are ground up and compressed until they make a pellet of highly compact material. A fireplace pellet is more dense then typical wood and therefore burns longer and gives off more heat. Because they are manufactured under controlled conditions the moisture content in a wood pellet can also be kept very low which improves their burning efficiency and reduces emissions.
At the pellet manufacturing facilities the wood debris and sawdust are milled into dough that is pressed through the holes of a die. The pressure raises the heat of the material to the point that the lignin in the wood forms natural glue that holds the pellet together.
Another advantage of using pellets is their consistent size makes them flow well and makes it easy to control an automatic feeding system which will feed the pellets into the fireplace as they are needed. That way you can load up the holding area of the fireplace and let it feed the pellets as needed. It also makes things easier for the manufacturer to package them and haul them in bags or other containers. Some people even set up a holding bin next to their house that can be loaded by a truck and have an auger or belt system that moves the pellets automatically into the fireplace or stove to be burned.
The use of a fireplace pellet system is becoming more wide spread. Even in Europe the popularity is growing as using wood pellets for heating homes is quickly becoming a way to save money on heating costs. In the U.K. it is estimated that customers are reducing heating costs by as much as 50%.
It is no wonder that their popularity has increased. They are less expensive, easy to transport and use and create a highly controllable heat source that has very low emissions. One must applaud the person who came up with the idea for the wood pellet.
