HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

Who's on first, What's on second. 

Results of the BIOENERGY 2020+ report for 

residential boilers 

Understanding European certification values and what they mean

for a changing New Source Performance Standard
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 2

Contents

■ Bioenergy 2020+

■ Why look at European biomass technology?

■ Performance developments over last 30 years

■ Biomass combustion technology

■ EN 303-5 – the European standard for solid fuel boilers

■ General

■ Performance requirements

■ Testing procedure

■ TOP 25% performing European biomass appliances

■ Selection criteria

■ Results

■ Summary
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 3

Bioenergy 2020+

■ National Biomass K1

Centre of Competence

■ Small scale biomass systems

located in Wieselburg

■ R&D focus in Wieselburg:

■ Standardized solid bio-fuels

■ Small scale combustion systems

■ Small and micro scale CHP (and cooling)

Management

Data, analysis and

measurement techniques

Biomass combustion

Small scale systems

Medium and large scale systems

Biomass gasification

Gasification and synthetic biofuels

Fermentation and liquid biofuels

Modelling & simulation

Our business: Energy from biomass
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 4

Why look at European biomass technology?

 Performance improvement

■ Test results from small scale biomass boilers

■ Pellet boilers starting in 1998 

■ Data from Austrian test house

(FJ-BLT)

■ Efficiency (based on NCV):

55  > 90 %

■ CO-Emissions:

15,000  < 50 mg/m3
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 5

volatiles

Why look at European biomass technology?

 Biomass combustion technology

combustion unit

reaction in firebed reaction in comb. chamber

■ Staged combustion

drying

solid

combustion

devolatilization

primary combustion zone

combustion

air

gas

combustion

combustion

air

secondary combustion zone
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 6

Why look at European biomass technology?

 Biomass combustion technology

■ Solid wood: under-burning 

principle

■ Pellets: under-feed burner

(also wood chip technology)

Froeling FHG Turbo

OekoFEN Pellematic
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 7

Why look at European biomass technology?

 Biomass combustion technology

■ Pellets: top-feed burner ■ Pellets and wood chips: 

horizontal-feed burner

Froeling P4 Pellet KWB Powerfire TDS
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 8

Why look at European biomass technology?

 Biomass combustion technology

■ Advantages of novel 

combustion technology

C

O2

C

O

Manually Stoked, Natural Draught Combustion

fuel batch

C

O2

C

O

Manually stoked, Under-Burning Combustion

fuel batch

from 

Handbuch – Bioenergie Kleinanlagen (FNR)

C

O2

C

O

Automatic Pellets Combustion
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 9

Contents

■ Bioenergy 2020+

■ Why look at European biomass technology?

■ Performance developments over last 30 years

■ Biomass combustion technology

■ EN 303-5 – the European standard for solid fuel boilers

■ General

■ Performance requirements

■ Testing procedure

■ TOP 25% performing European biomass appliances

■ Selection criteria

■ Results

■ Summary
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 10

EN 303-5 – European standard for boilers 

 General

■ Currently under revision

■ Valid for

■ Solid fuel boilers (hydronic heating only)

■ Manual and automatic stoking

■ Up to 1025 MBtu/h (1700 MBtu/h under discussion)

■ Regulates

■ Requirements 

general, safety, construction, design, performance

■ Test methods 

heat output, efficiency, emissions, test fuel, safety devices, surface 

temperatures; pressure test, 

■ Test report, documentation, ...
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 11

EN 303-5 – European standard for boilers 

 Performance requirements

■ Efficiency

■ Efficiencies were 

converted for 

pellets fuel

■ Current version of 

EN 303-5: 

class 1 to class 3

■ Future efficiency 

requirements: class 

3 to class 5

■ Class 4 and 5 

under discussion! 45%

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

90%

0 300 600 900 1200 1500

nominal load in MBTU/h

class 3

class 2

class 1

class 4

class 5

efficienc

y

b

a

s

e

d

on G

C

V

Blue Angel (G)/Umweltzeichen (A)

Nordic Swan (Scandinavia)
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 12

EN 303-5 – European standard for boilers 

 Performance requirements

■ Emission limits

■ Limits also given 

for CO and OGC 

emissions

■ Class 4 and 5 

under discussion!

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

Class 1 Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5

solid wood

pellets

wood chips

dust e

mis

sion limits in lb/M

M

Btu
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 13

EN 303-5 – European standard for boilers 

 Performance requirements

■ Minimum heat output

■ Minimum heat output of 30% of nominal load required

■ Minimum heat output for manual boilers may be higher

– Manufacturer has to specify how to dissipate produced heat 

– Usually heat storage is recommended

– Design guideline for heat storage

– No heat storage necessary if < 300 l/80 gal

















    

min

4.5 1 0.3

Q

Q

V T Q H

AT B N

VAT Accumulator tank capacity l

QN Nominal heat output MBtu/h

TB Burning period h

QH Heating load of the premises MBtu/h

Qmin Minimum heat output MBtu/h
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 14

EN 303-5 – European standard for boilers 

 Testing procedure

■ Reach normal working conditions 

(stationary state) before testing

■ Test cycles:

■ 2 tests at nominal load

■ 1 test at smallest load

■ Duration:

■ 6 hours for automatic stoking

■ One fuel charge for manual stoking (minimum 2 hours for 

full load)

■ Ranges for ambient air temperature and return/flowtemperature given

■ Dust measurements taken twice during 30 period at full 

load
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 15

Contents

■ Bioenergy 2020+

■ Why look at European biomass technology?

■ Performance developments over last 30 years

■ Biomass combustion technology

■ EN 303-5 – the European standard for solid fuel boilers

■ General

■ Performance requirements

■ Testing procedure

■ TOP 25% performing European biomass appliances

■ Selection criteria

■ Results

■ Summary
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 16

TOP 25% performing appliances 

 Selection criteria

■ Austrian, German, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian 

biomass appliances considered

■ Vast data collection of test results

– 954 boiler data sets

433 pellets, 279, solid wood, 213 wood chips

– 130 room heater data sets

79 pellets, 51 solid wood

■ Selection criteria for TOP 25%:

■ Appliances grouped in load ranges

■ Highest efficiencies at full load 

■ CO-emissions at full load smaller than average CO-emissions in 

respective load range
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 17

ηG

C

V

1)

(%)

C

O

(mg/m

3

12%O2

)

T

S

P

1)

(lb/M

M

Btu)

N

O

x

(mg/m312%O2

)

< 55 87 43 0.022 140

55 - 100 86 39 0.024 136

100 - 170 87 38 0.023 132

170 - 340 86 24 0.036 154

> 340 86 17 0.031 133

< 85 83 174 0.039 139

85 - 120 83 220 0.044 126

120 - 170 83 152 0.066 115

> 170 82 97 0.033 119

< 100 76 60 0.046 157

100 - 200 79 39 0.027 134

200 - 340 78 30 0.038 138

340 - 680 80 22 0.042 125

> 680 78 34 0.092 131

pellets 82 34 0.027 145

solid wood 79 252 0.027 120

stove with 

hot water pellets 25 - 50 85 117 0.019 143

< 30 88 164 0.045 88

> 30 87 180 0.043 110

solid wood 20 - 130 73 1069 0.050 126

technology

fuel

data at nominal load

lo

ad range

(M

Btu/h)

50 - 150

stove 

pellets

solid wood

wood chips

pellets

boiler

combined 

boiler

1) related to the Gross Calorific Value (upper heating value)

TOP 25% performing appliances 

 Results

Boilers

■ > 75% efficiency based 

on GCV

■ Dust emissions

< 0.04 lb/MMBtu 

for pellets

< 0.07 lb/MMBtu 

for solid wood and 

< 0.10 lb/MMBtu 

for wood chips

Stoves

■ > 70% efficiency based 

on GCV

■ Dust emissions 

< 0.05 lb/MMBtu
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 18

75%

80%

85%

90%

0 200 400 600 800 1000

nominal load in MBTU/h

class 4

class 5

efficiency based on G

C

V

TOP 25% pellet boilers

class 3

TOP 25% performing appliances 

 Results

■ Efficiencies

■ TOP 25% pellet boilers reach 

higher efficiencies than future 

requirement of EN 303-5, class 5

■ Also true for wood chip and solid 

wood boilers

■ Class 4 and 5 under discussion!

75%

80%

85%

90%

< 55

55 - 100

100 - 170170 - 340

> 340

< 85

85 - 120

120 - 170

> 170< 100

100 - 200200 - 340340 - 680

> 680

pellet boilers solid wood boilers wood chip boilers

nominal load partial load

efficiency

based

onGCV

load category

(MBtu/h)

■ Small variations between 

efficiencies at full and partial 

load

■ Even higher efficiencies at 

partial load possible
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 19

TOP 25% performing appliances 

 Results

■ Dust emissions

■ TOP 25% pellet 

boilers reach lower 

dust emissions than 

future requirement 

of EN 303-5, 

class 5

■ Also true for wood 

chip and solid wood 

boilers

■ Class 4 and 5 

0.000 under discussion!

0.050

0.100

0.150

0.200

0 200 400 600 800 1000

nominal load in MBTU/h

class 3

class 4

class 5

TOP 25% pellet boilers

class 2

dust e

mis

sions in lb/M

M

Btu
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

slide 20

Summary

■ Staged combustion is state-of-the-art in Europe

■ Under-burning technology used for solid wood boilers 

■ European/national regulations and eco-labels are major driving forces 

for technological developments

■ EN 303-5 (under revision)

– Performance requirements

– Different classes encompass all European technology levels 

– Heat storage required if partial load > 30%

– Test methods described for heat load, efficiency, emissions, ...

■ TOP 25% performing biomass appliances 

– Austrian, German and Scandinavian products were analyzed

– Reach higher performances than required in future EN 303-5
HeatNE, April 27th 2010, Manchester, NH

Results of the BIOENERGY 2020+ 

report for residential boilers

Birgit Musil-Schlaeffer

birgit.musil@bioenergy2020.eu

+43-7416/52238-28

Walter Haslinger

walter.haslinger@bioenergy2020.eu

+43-7416/52238-20