THE GREEN PARADE:
Green Heat From Brown Beetle Kill - Central Boiler Perfects Outdoor Wood Burning
By Cindy Harder / Photos by Carter Photographics
 Heidi McNinch and Jay Dekovic remember the days when their poorly insulated log cabin they rented required getting up in the middle of the night at least twice to stoke the old wood stove just to keep a skim of ice in the bedside water glass from forming. But now that they have their own cabin, things are a little different. In researching alternative heating systems, they have discovered the benefits of an efficient outdoor wood-burning furnace by Central Boiler.
Upon inspection of their furnace, the expectation of a huge steel box-like unit is soon dispelled. The Central Boiler woodburning furnace is housed in a neatly styled exterior building just off the side of their cabin. It looks like a small Tuff Shed® and burns firewood like a highly proficient wood stove, heating the entire house, garage, apartment and hot water tank. Opening the furnace face plate, Dekovic demonstrates how easy it is to add fuel to the fire in the form of cut logs about three feet long. A small puff of smoke escapes and emits the smell of a pleasant campfire. The furnace box is stoked only twice a day and easily accommodates the temperature set by a thermostat inside the house.
The dynamics and engineering of the furnace are very straightforward. Approximately 380 gallons of water act as the conduit of heat from the furnace to the house. As the wood burns, it heats water contained within a jacket that surrounds the furnace box. Five zones of thermostats control the inside temperature of the house, triggering the heated water system to pump through a “manifold main” installed in a central utility closet. An underground, insulated tubing system provides the flow of the water to and from the furnace box to the house as it circulates throughout the different zones by way of baseboard returns. The system is fueled by about fifteen cords of wood a year and has the added benefit of switching to a standard propane furnace if needed.
 Central Boiler has adapted their outdoor furnaces for a variation of fuels including firewood, corn and wood pellets. McNinch and Dekovic have a residential firewood-burning model, CL 5648, which can replace up to 500 gallons of fuel oil per month and could replace $5,000 or more in fossil fuel a year. By using the vast carnage of local beetle-kill pine, they calculated their savings at approximately $2,000 a year while embracing a green, sustainable energy source. Their small drafty cabin, previously heated with electric, was transformed into an airtight, efficient home with an expanded floor plan. The new wood furnace combined with the remodel improvements all contributed to a considerable difference in their heating costs.
The Central Boiler outdoor furnace works with any existing heating system. Water-to-air or water-to-water heat exchangers or direct circulation conveys the heat into the structure’s forced-air furnace, boiler or radiant floor heating system. This allows for normal thermostatic control for safe, even, clean and comfortable heat.
Furthermore, lab testing shows this outdoor furnace is over 85 percent efficient in BTUs. BTU (British thermal unit) is the basic measure of thermal heat energy. (The BTU ratings may vary, pending dry versus wetter firewood or using wood pellets or corn as a fuel source; the “cleaner” the burn, the higher the rating.)
According to Central Boiler, other models recently developed, including the E-Classic 2300, are reported to “shatter virtually every preconceived notion about emissions and efficiencies of wood heating.” McNinch and Dekovic hope to soon add a greenhouse that will also be heated by their furnace.
The Maxim M250, an outdoor wood pellet and corn furnace, is perfect for Grand County with the excess of beetle-kill pine and our local pellet plant, Confluence Energy in Kremmling.
 “I purchased a Maxim Boiler last year and have been very pleased with the system. So far I have been able to cut my heating expenses in half – based on previous propane use.”
- Brian Kerby, Megastar Financial Corp.
Dekovic states, “Heating by outdoor furnace isn’t for everyone, because it is a lifestyle adaptation and your timing has to be on.” It takes a commitment to keep the fires burning and if forgotten, it’s back to the skim of ice in the water glass.
However, both McNinch and Dekovic state this system is ideal for them because of their commitment to using a renewable energy source and because it weans them off of the grid. They cite the local Central Boiler representative, Eugene McDevitt, as being a tremendous resource for them as they researched the product and made the decision to convert to the outdoor furnace.
Grand County is experiencing a surplus of dead trees due to the pine beetle, and Central Boiler is a heating-industry leader in utilizing renewable energy, using biomass fuels that are “carbon neutral.” This means they don’t generate a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions, as do fossil fuels like electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, and coal. Going green isn’t just a fad anymore, and in Grand County, abundant biomass makes that goal very achievable.
Follow the links below for more articles within the Green Parade section.
READ MORE STORIES ON THE GREEN PARADE IN:
• People Paving The Way: Locals Lead The County To A Greener Future
• Renewable Energy Rebates: Where Locals Can Get $$ Back
• Reducing Your Carbon Footprint Starts At Home
• Green Heat From Brown Beetle Kill: Central Boiler Perfects Outdoor Wood Burning
• The Antique Elegance Of Timber Frame Homes: Age-old Building Tradition Makes Sense Today
• Doing It Greener The Second Time Around
• Holistic Architecture: Architecture + Energy = Harmony
• 2009 Feature Articles |
