New build - heating options advice required.

onq said:

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In cold countries they can be stored outside with no special measures and the air dries them out to perhaps 12% if stored outside - Ireland is a damp country.
This means that, even if the pellets are delivered at say 14% they can absorb enough moisture from the air to rise to say 18% - this is too high for efficiant combustion.

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+1

Wood pellets with moisture content of 12% or more is far too high and will invalidate many wood pellet boiler manufacturer's warranties. It leads to incomplete combustion. and clogging of the auger from moist dust particles.

For example, the Grant Spira Condensing wood pellet boiler stipulates that the pellets used must have the following attributes otherwise warranty is void:

1. Moisture content below 10%
2. Calorific value of 4.8 - 5.2kWh/kg
3. Ash content of <1%
4. Bulk density of 650kg/m³ or less
5. Chlorine content of 0.03% or less
6. No additives.

Generally speaking, 6mm approved premium pellets such as Balcas Brites, Bord na Mona or GWP pellets should be used. Always use Irish Agrément Certified pellets.

URGENT ALERT

The HSA is issuing an urgent alert to operators, maintenance personnel and members of the public on the dangers associated with bulk feed hoppers/tanks normally used with Wood Pellet Boilers.
This alert follows a fatal accident where a home owner entered a bulk wood pellet storage hopper/tank and was overcome by carbon monoxide (CO) gas. CO is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas that is highly toxic.

http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Topics/Safety_Alerts/Wood_Pellet_Feed_Hoppers_Tanks/