The UK woodworking industry primarily relies on electricity to operate its machinery, and gas or oil to provide heating for its facilities. However, with recent periods of low wind energy production and a global gas shortage, a significant concern has arisen regarding the energy sources for heating and power in this sector.
According to OFGEM, the situation is becoming critical as at least four additional energy supply companies are on the verge of collapse. Although consumer prices are capped to some extent, there is no such safeguard for the woodworking industry, resulting in an anticipated rise in energy bills.
Moreover, wholesale gas prices in the UK have surged significantly in recent years, and this increase will inevitably be passed on to the woodworking industry. Fortunately, the UK woodworking industry possesses the means to alleviate its energy challenges. The answer: a wood-fired heating system.
Most manufacturing units have large, unused roof spaces and access to ample reserves of wood waste. This could be harnessed as a potential energy source.
Based in Northampton in the UK, Ranheat Engineering is a renowned manufacturer of industrial wood-fired boilers and heaters. Our systems can burn all types of wood waste, including fine dust and manmade boards such as MFC, MDF, OSB and other ply-boards. They are available from as small as 150kW, which can heat a factory size of around 10,000ft2, up to plants of several megawatts of output.
With a six-fold increase in wholesale gas prices, there has never been a better time to invest in a wood-fired heating system from Ranheat Engineering.
All wood processors utilise a dust extraction system ranging from basic bag units, where the dust bags can be quickly emptied using a “bag-loader”, to a purpose-built transfer system that feeds into a metal storage silo connected directly to the primary extraction system.
Off-cuts are loaded directly into a woodchipper for chipping and feeding into a 300kW Ranheat warm air system.
Every Ranheat wood-fired heating system is custom-designed and we produce nearly all the components in-house, including the boiler/heater, storage silos, feed system and flue-gas cleaning. This eliminates any concerns about delays associated with shipping systems from abroad, as all cutting, bending, rolling and welding are carried out by our team.
Ranheat Engineering’s Managing Director Chris Franklin recalls the start of the UK wood-burning industry in the early 1980s when global oil prices rose 15-fold in one year: “We went from cheap energy to no energy in a very short space of time. Now, it is more about greenhouse gases, emissions and cost. Using wood waste that is a by-product of a wood-manufacturing process has to make sense. When the wood-manufactured item comes to the end of its life, it can be recycled into energy.”
With the rise in energy costs and environmental awareness, investing in wood-fired heaters or boilers can provide the UK woodworking industry with a timely and sustainable solution. As concerns grow about the reliability and cost of traditional energy sources, these systems offer a unique opportunity to harness wood waste, cut costs and reduce the environmental impact.
At Ranheat, our wood-fired industrial biomass boilers are tailored to the specific needs of our clients. For more information about our products, please visit www.ranheat.com. You can also contact us at sales@ranheat.com or by telephoning 01604 750005.
MATT LOCAL
