• Vigas FAQ's
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 1.
If I change to a woodfired Central Heating System, do I have to
refill wood several
times a day ? |
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If you decide to buy a woodfired boiler, we advise
you to connect a buffer tank to the installation. This waterfilled
buffertank buffers the heat created by the burner and regulates
and limits the need for refills due to its heat buffering capacity.
Depending on the size and insulation of the tank, only 1 to 2
burn cycles are required.
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| 2.
Is a woodfired boiler environmental friendly ? |
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For the examination of the environmental friendliness of fuels the overall process of origination, extraction, transport and burn cycle have to be overviewed. In the overall cycle wood differentiates itself positively against other fossile fuel. Wood is an ideal way of storing energy. Wood offers only a limited contribution to our overall energy supply. At this moment fossile fuels are mainly used. Fuel which has been created over millions of years is being used up in a fraction of time. A forest area can deliver the required energy in 10-50 years. By using more wood as fuel the management and exploitation of forest areas will become more efficient. This is good for all of us. Better forest management is indispensable for a healthy future. A healthy forest operates like a huge filter in our atmosphere. Wood offers us an ideal manner to store energy as well. Wood can be harvested whenever needed and can easily be replaced. As burning of wood closes the natural cycle, this is a good means of energy supply in times of pollution. |
| 3.
How does the wood gasifying process work ? |
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Not every central heating boiler is a wood gasifier.
Wood gasifying is the wood burning process where the burning temperature
reaches a level of in between 600 and 1200 degrees celcius. Wood
consists of 85% volatile materials, which will be released as
a gas during the burning process. Only 14% remains as carbon and
1% as ashes. Wood burns in three stages. In the first stage the
fuel will dry out. Secondly the gas components will burn up. Not
before in the third phase the smouldering parts and carbon will
be burned. Up to a temperature of 200 degrees the drying of the
wood takes place as even dry wood contains 15-20% of water. Between
200 and 600 degrees the wood disintegrates completely into its
chemical components. . When these materials oxidate in the flames,
energy will be released in the form of heat.This burning phase
is called Pyrolysis. Only with temperatures higher than 600 degrees
celcius the more difficult to burn gases oxidate and a bed of
glowing carbon (embers) is created. Together with the burning
gases that have a temperature of 900 degrees, the inner wood mass
is gasified. In order to make the burning process even more effective,
the gas will be fed into a combustion chamber which is also fed
with pre-heated secondary air. The remaining gas will be burned
and oxidated completely.
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| 4.
Why using a VIGAS boiler ? |
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The VIGAS boiler are very reliable. The boilers
make use of the most modern technology, have an efficiency of
between 83 and 92 %, are very user friendly and have a very low
level of emissions.
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| 5.
My annual usage of gas is around 5000 cubic meter, or 2000 litres
of oil, how much
wood do I need to create the same amount of heat ? |
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One cubic meter of gas delivers 8,8 kwh of energy.
One kilo of wood delivers 4 kwh energy. For every cubic meter
of gas you need 2.2 Kilo of wood. The weight of one cubic metre
of wood depends on the type of wood. One cubic meter of wood with
a water percentage of 15% weights between 450 and 770 kilos. Therefore
you need 15-18 cubic meter of wood to equalise the energy need
for 5000 cubic of gas. Or put in a different way, one ton of dried
firewood replaces 300 ltr of oil.
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| 6.
Can A woodfired boiler also deliver domestic hot water ? |
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A wood fired boiled boiler is very suited for
the production of hot water. In general this is only justified
in case you need to heat up large volumes of water as for homeheating.
For domestic hot water a small tank can be installed into the
system which in wintertime can be run of your wood fired boiler
and in summertime run of a thermal solarpanel and / or an electric
immersion heater.
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| 7.
Can I see a woodfired boiler in operation ? |
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Yes sure, In Ireland there are systems in operation
which we install and maintain. We can show you these systems if
you want after consultation with the customers.
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| 8.
What happens if I do not refill in time ? |
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If no fuel is added the heat input stops. In case
you have a buffer tank installed the system can give of heat for
1-3 days without fuel refill. Depending on the size of your buffertank
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| 9.
Can I connect a solar hot water energy system to my Heating installation
? |
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Yes that is possible. In the drawing you can see
the installation configuration with a solar energy system.
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| 10.
How much wood do I need ? |
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The amount of wood you need depends on the size
of your boiler ,the cubic footage or metres of your home and the
level of insulation of your home.
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| 11.
Will the room temperature change in the room where the boiler is
placed ? |
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Modern boilers have a high efficiency and are
very well insulated. The heat loss of the boiler itself is therefore
very low.
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| 12.
Can you compare the boiler with a multiburner ? |
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Multiburners actually do not exist. There are no stoves or burners in which you may burn all kinds of materials. The burning of polymers (plastics and the likes) is therefore not allowed and harms your boiler. By a multiburner is meant a type of stove which burns solid fuels like wood, coal and turf and is placed in the living room and therefore creates radiation heat. Actually none of these stoves reaches a proper full combustion and take part in polluting our environment more than necessary. Our woodfired boilers work differently and very clean: They are placed in a boiler room or shed and do not deliver radiation heat, but heat up water which is distributed via pipes to your radiators or floor or wall heating systems, like any cental heating boiler.
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| 13.
It is possible to connect a woodfired boiler to underfloor heating
system or wall
heating system ? |
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Yes it is very well possible to connect woodfired boiler systems to your underfloor or wall heating system,and as a matter of fact is an even more economic way of heating your home compared to radiators. But when your home has been fitted with radiators in the past it may be better to just stick with the existing system in place.
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