Wood Pellets, Burners & Boilers – Availability In NZ
The wood pellet market is still in its initial phases in New Zealand and produced 5,000 tons for 2,000 residential customers in 2004. With a large scale pellet plant now operating, the market is extended to small to medium scale commercial operations, and is competitive with gas.
Activity is increasing as the popularity of pellets takes off. There are pockets of activity in a number of regions across the country.
WOOD PELLET MANUFACTURES
Pellets are now manufactured in New Zealand by a growing number of producers:
- Firetime Wood Fuel Pellets (from Azwood Ltd), Nelson
- HotShottzz from Golden Strand Wood Fibre Products, Auckland
- Inset Firelogs (NZ) Ltd, Hastings
- Nature’s Flame, Christchurch, Rotorua and Taupo
- Southern Wood Pellets, Invercargill
- Starwood Ltd, Timaru
- Wood Pellet Fuels Limited, Huntly
See suppliers list for contact details.
NZ BASED PELLET FIRE & BOILER MANUFACTURERS
There are currently seven New Zealand based manufactures of wood pellet stoves/burners and boilers:
- Eco Flame, Christchurch
- Fogarty Industries, Invercargill
- McKenzie Heating Design
- Metalfab Industries (2004), Auckland
- Metro Fires, Taranaki
- Parkwood Pellet Fires,
- Taymac (Taylor Manufacturing), Christchurch
See suppliers list for contact details.
PELLETS FUEL & PELLET APPLIANCE RETAILERS
Both New Zealand made and a wide range of brands of imported pellet fires and pellet fired boilers from Europe, North America, and Australia are now available in New Zealand from a wide range of outlets.
- Advanced Heating Technology, Christchurch
- Building Choices (t/a Placemakers), Christchurch
- Central Heating NZ, Christchurch
- Eco Heating NZ, Auckland
- Energy Alternatives Coromandel, Coromandel
- Energy Options, Whakatane
- Harris Flame Technology, Christchurch
- Otago Pellet Fires, Dunedin
- PL Gas and Solar, Rotorua
- Retail Links (4 Seasons Home and Leisure Stores), Nelson
- Savepower.co.nz, Invercargil
- Smiths Mitre10 - Hornby, Christchurch and nationwide
- Spark Biomass Energy, Auckland
- Switch Energy, Solutions
- The Fireplace Ltd, Auckland
- Vortex Engineering, Auckland
- Wood Pellet Fuels, Huntly
See suppliers list for further details.
Emissions and Council Approved Pellet Fires
After 1st September 2005 the National Environmental Standards (NES) for air quality require that all wood burners installed on properties less than 2 hectares must have a discharge of less than 1.5 grams of particles for each kilogram of dry wood burnt, and a thermal efficiency at least 65%.
NOTE - Pellet burners are not included in the National Environmental Standard as they cannot be tested in accordance with the method due to their automatic feed mechanism. Pellet burners are however, extremely efficient and clean burning.
Further information on the National Environmental Standard for air quality is available from the Ministry for the Environment website.
The Ministry for the Environment has also produced a list of pellet burners (approved by ECAN and Nelson Councils). Details on emissions from these burners are noted (if they have been tested) at their website.
The following Councils have released details on consented and approved pellet burners (as well as wood burners):
CURRENT Standards
Why do we need Standards?
There is a wide variety of biomass which can be used to produce energy use. In most cases, the conversion equipment (i.e., the burner) works most effectively with only a few types and forms of biomass fuel. For wood pellet fuel, as for any other major fuel, there can be major differences in performance properties between different batches arising from the use of different feedstock material with different ash and moisture content. An attraction of wood pellets as a fuel is its quality consistency and thus its predictable combustion characteristics. Without standards, variability in pellet quality could lead to blockages in the fuel feed line, inefficient combustion performance, fluctuation in air emissions, condensation in the flue, or automatic shut down of the equipment as it moves outside its design operating regime. (See below for BANZ Wood Fuel Classification Guidelines).
Standards are required for both combustion equipment, and also the pellet fuels. They are both vital if wood fuel is to become a mainstream commodity fuel that users can buy for confident and trouble free operation. They are there to ensure reliable, efficient, trouble free operation. This is one of wood pellets major attributes compared to solid wood fuel which is much less likely to have consistent fuel characteristics, in particular with regard to moisture content. Standards for pellet fuel aim to ensure a consistent quality so as to ensure predictable and consistent air emissions.
Regional Councils will have more confidence in wood fuel use in residential heating where the combustion characteristics of the fuel is predictable because of the use of standard specified grades of fuel.
The main standards for the wood pellets sector typically cover the following issues:-
- Pellets specification (i.e. size, shape, chemical content, water content etc)
- Pellet boiler or heater emissions
- Pellet boiler or heater efficiency
- Pellet boiler or heater installation
CURRENT STANDARDS IN New zealand - PELLET fuel
BANZ has developed, in partnership with EECA, the Wood Fuel Classification Guidelines as an industry initiative to standardise the classification of wood fuels (including wood pellets) for sellers and buyers. These guidelines assist buyers and sellers to describe wood pellet fuel with common terminology and agreed parameters. This will assist wood pellets to be recognised as a mainstream energy source by providing confidence to buyers of fuel quality, and additional value to pellet fuel producers and sellers.
The Guidelines have been developed by industry consensus and will be reviewed periodically and a new version issued as appropriate.
CURRENT STANDARDS IN New zealand - appliances
AS/NZS 4014.6:2007 - Specifies test methods for assessing pellet test fuels used when determining the power output efficiency and particulate emission of domestic solid fuel appliances.
AS/NZS 4886:2007 - For determining the rate of particulate emissions from domestic pellet burning appliances and specifications on particulate emission acceptance criteria.
AS/NZS 5078:2007 - How to evaluate the average efficiency and thermal output from automatic feed and pellet fuel-burning room heaters designed for burning wood pellets and other suitable solid fuels.
CURRENT STANDARDS IN New zealand - installation of appliances
There are currently no standards or Guidelines on the installation of pellet appliances. BANZ is developing a course leading to a Certificate in Wood Pellet Heater Installer Course in partnership with Waiariki Polytechnic in Rotorua. The Certificate is part of a course leading to a Diploma in Sustainable Energy available from the polytechnic. BANZ is currently seeking funding for this course. If you are interested in details please contact Connie.crookshanks@bioenergy.org.nz
For more information on standards go to BANZ members section.
New zealand national standards
Standards for Pellet Burners
The following standards relating to wood pellets currently exist in New Zealand (www.standards.co.nz):
- AS/NZS 4014.6:2007 Domestic solid fuel burning appliances - test fuels. Part 6:Wood Pellets.
- AS/NZS 4886:2007 Domestic solid fuel burning appliance - Pellet Heaters - Determination of flue gas emission
- AS/NZS 5078:2007 Domestic solid fuel burning appliances - Pellet Heaters - Method for determination of power output and efficiency
There are currently NO standards in New Zealand for the installation of pellet stoves/burners or boilers.
(NOTE - DR06595 CP Domestic solid fuel burning appliances - Pellet heaters - Installation requirements exists in Australia).
- Standards for Pellet Fuel
There are currently NO standards in New Zealand for pellet specifications. However, specifications put forward by ECAN and Nelson City Council's include the following:
ECAN - Environment Canterbury specify the following for pellet fuel. “Only pelletised wood fuel that only comprises sawdust and/or wood-shavings from wood that has not been treated with any chemicals and meeting the following specifications can be used:
- fines: 1% maximum through a 3 mm screen
- bulk density: 641 kg/m3 minimum
- size: 6 to 10 mm diameter and 10 to 20 mm length
- ash content: 1% maximum
- moisture content: 8% maximum
- energy content: 19.1 MJ/kg minimum.”
Nelson City Council - From the Nelson Air Quality Plan
Appendix AQ2A.2.1 states that “ Wood pellets used in any small scale pellet burning appliance shall not use any wood treated with preservatives or impregnated with chemicals, and must comply with the following standards”:
Average moisture content (as delivered) |
4 – 8% (of wet mass) |
Ash |
not more than 0.5% (oven dry basis) |
Gross calorific value (as delivered) |
18 to 20 MJ/kg |
Diameter |
not more than 10mm |
Length |
not more than 38mm |
Bulk density |
not less than 640 kg/m3 |
International standards
The table below presents details of the standards that exist internationally for pellet manufacture, storage and use. Also listed (where available) are details of the standards for pellet burners.
Country |
Details on Standards |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
UK |
In addition to specifications for biomass fuels, there are also specifications for biomass combustion equipment. BS EN 303-5:1999 applies to heating boilers for solid fuels, hand and automatically fired, nominal heat output of up to 300kW. It is the local UK implementation by the BSI of EN 303-5. BS EN 303-5:1999 covers properties such as performance, efficiency, emissions, thermal output, pressure testing, safety measures and testing. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
USA |
1. Bulk Density/Cubic Ft. Not less than 40 lbs. Not less than 40 lbs. It is recommended that PFI member manufacturers label their product as meeting PFI Standard or Premium Grade. They are asked to disclose the type of material (e.g. wood, paper, agricultural residues). It is also recommended that manufacturers include on their bags the membership logo and in a printed block a guaranteed analysis with at least the following parameters: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sweden |
A Swedish pellet standard was established in 1999 (SS 18 71 20), which classifies pellets into three groups according to their quality standards. When market expansion into the domestic sector took place, it also became necessary to guarantee operational safety and low emissions. The P-marking testing procedure was developed to ensure that the minimum requirements of pellet burners, stoves and boilers were met. SS 187120 (pellets) and SS 187121 (briquettes) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Austria |
Austrian legislation enforces stringent emission standards for boilers, and a pellet certification system ensures high fuel standards. The Austrian standard ÖNORM M 7135 (briquettes and pellets) ensures a high quality of compressed biomass fuels and the exclusive use of natural raw materials. In addition, the industrial standard ÖNORM M 7136 aims to ensure quality control during transport, storage and distribution. Another standard (ÖNORM M 7137) lists quality criteria for wood pellet storage rooms at the customer's premises, and deals with the requirements of different wood pellet storage options in one-family houses or apartment blocks. The table below sets out the criteria/specification for Austrian Standard ÖNORM M 7135.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Germany |
The German standard DIN 51731 (briquettes and pellets) regulates similar parameters to the Austrian ÖNORM M 7135, and since spring 2002 a new regulation, 'DIN plus', has been in force. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Europe |
CEN/TC 335 biomass standards CEN/TC 335 is the technical committee developing the draft standard to describe all forms of solid biofuels within Europe, including wood chips, wood pellets and briquettes, logs, sawdust and straw bales. CEN/TC 335 allows all relevant properties of the fuel to be described, and includes both normative information that must be provided about the fuel, and informative information that can be included but is not required. As well as the physical and chemical characteristics of the fuel as it is, CEN/TC 335 also provides information on the source of the material. |
Note also the following EU site on standards and additional environmental or quality labels for pellets and pellets heating - click here to go to website.