Can a wood pellet boiler replace solid fuel??

beanie10

Hi all. Im looking for your expert advice. Im living in a 1,800 sq ft bungalow, my heating is currently by external oil burner and indoor solid fuel stove with back boiler. This year i want to get away from turf and am wondering it an indoor wood pellet boiler would be an adequate replacement for the solid fuel.
I would be using the wood pellet boiler the same way the solid fuel was used(on for 8-10 hours a day in cold weather). This way gave a nice even heat all day and the only time i needed the oil was to boost the heat in the morning to give the solid fuel a head start. I would be buying the pellets in 15kg bags and manually feed the stove so illiminate any need for hoppers or worm.
As i have a vented system i could also seal up the heating system. I dont think its practical to leave oil running for this length of time.
I have 11 radiators with standard insulation. What size of boiler would i need to work this way? What other alternative is there to the solid fuel stove?
Thanks in advance.

Carlow52

15 kg bags will be expensive, more so than oil if used in a good, well maintained and services self condensing, modulating boiler.

In addition I would not close off any system with solid fuel in the mix.

beanie10

Thanks for reply. I will be taking out the solid fuel altogether and hope to sit a wood pellet boiler in its place. What attracts me to wood pellet is that it can be left ticking over for few hours every day inside the house thus giving same effect of solid fuel stove.
15 kg bag works out at about €4.25. From my research if i light the wood pellet for 10 hours i would burn about 15 kg of pellets.

EHP

The size of pellet stove required would be around 20kw based on average insulation. Depending on heat loss and the temp required you should average between 6 to 10 hours on a 15kg bag of pellets (very rough guide as alot of factors affect this).

slave1

1,900sq ft semi, multi-fuel stove, good insulation.
We use a bucket of coal, usually horse the whole bucket on once the fire gets going on some timber/2 BnM briquettes, and then close off stove and let burn slowly throughout the day/evening.
By nighttime the house is plenty warm and no need for further fuel to be used (current weather this past month or so).
Bag of coal around €14 on average (use cosyglow mixed in with cheaper coal).
Get about 5 buckets from a 40kg bag of coal.
So, house heated (water too) for less than €3/day.

In other words, could you move from turf to coal on your exising stove, no big cash outlay and cheaper heating.

EHP

That is impressive how good is the insulation? I dont understand the question at the end are you looking to go from coal to turf?

slave1

I have most external walls studded with 50mm kingspan (me, 2010), other external walls have an inch white polywatsitcalled (me, few years back), usual double glazing gas filled windows in a few rooms, older PVC on some rooms mind, cavity pumped (10 years) and attic has 4" glass fibre (floored). Took floors up in half the house when replacing gun barrell and put in 200mm (or something close to that) insulation a few years back. Rads set at 3 (out of 5) in most rooms, 2 in hallways and bathrooms, 0 in spare room.
Stanly Erin stove fitted in 2010.
All the above over the last 10years or so.
I get a fill of oil about every 4 years, we rarely use the oil.

It wasn't a question for me at the end, it was for the OP as in, would he think about switching coal for turf and trying that for a while, thus avoiding a big spend.