chips & pellets

Woodchips can be made from any part of the tree but tend to be from branches and thinnings which are mechanically processed in a tractor-driven machine.

Chips need to be dried to around 25% moisture content to be used as fuel and are frequently found powering larger woodfuel installations. The Aviemore district heating scheme installed by Albyn Housing Society Ltd in Aviemore is an example of where this technology has been used to heat multiple homes using locally sourced fuel.

A scheme at the Hill of Banchory scheme in Aberdeenshire was recently awarded a Scottish Government grant to supply energy from local woodchips to more than 200 homes. A number of tourism businesses and residential homes within the Cairngorms National Park have successfully converted to woodchip heating and more are currently contemplating making the switch.

Wood pellets are a high density, low moisture form of wood fuel made from compacted sawdust and other by products of the wood industry.

The dryness of pellets combined with their uniform size and density makes them a very reliable fuel. Pellets flow freely and work well in automated systems, burning cleanly and creating very little ash.