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ProFab Blog
Burning Clean to Keep it Green
Are you looking for a cleaner alternative to burning coal, or perhaps
just a cheaper means to stay warm? Trying to balance the scales of efficient
and globally friendly can be difficult, but it’s not impossible! With a bit of
time and ingenuity anyone can create their own clean-burning source of energy.
What’s the catch, you ask? Surely you’ll need some manner of expensive fuel,
right? Not at all! As long as you have a surplus of scrap wood, plants, or even
garbage, biomass gasification could work for you!
 Coal-fired power plants are the most common form of gasification, as they
can produce extreme amounts of energy under the appropriate parameters. Unfortunately,
one of the resultant products it creates is carbon dioxide (CO2)
which is one of the largest contributors to global warming. That is where wood
gasification comes in! With slight modifications, the same procedures can be
done through a wood
gasifier with materials that naturally reoccur. Aside from wood, wheat scraps and
a list of other crop leftovers can be burned down to generate the appropriate
gasses. For those who have excess plant matter, such as farmers or woodworkers,
biomass gasification can help both the wallet and the ozone.
Gasifiers can also vary in size, making it a great method for entire
power plants or a single home. In fact, if you don’t need to produce 250
million watts of power – the Polk Power Station near Tampa does, and they use
biomass gasification – you can make your own gasifier from household products. However,
if you lack experience with welding or handling combustibles, it may be for the
better if you purchase one from experts. Either way, the gasifier will pay for
itself in less than a year, while also reducing your contribution to global
warming.
How do you feel about biomass gasification as an alternative source of
energy?
Labels: wood gasifier
Government Just Schooled us on Alternative Energy
Like a money budget, the government also has an energy budget.
We're not talking about the physical endurance of officials and their
ability to stay awake during tedious debates.
We're talking about energy that fuels new construction, powers
electronics and lights up the White House.
Non-renewable and renewable energy alike.
The fact is, the government uses many sources of energy to power
operations, but the majority of it is non-renewable. Among using energy resources from the
homeland, the government also uses energy sources from foreign lands – mostly
oil. And because the price of foreign
oil often fluctuates, the budget is hard to determine.
This is pretty obvious, but what isn't talked about is the government
department that used the most energy and how much energy it uses.
Eighty percent of the government energy budget is used by one department
and this 80% accounts for $19.4 of annual energy spending. Surprisingly, this department that flies
under the radar screen when it comes to energy is the Department of Defense
(DoD).
The department that creates a defensive blanket for the United States
spends this money on national and international structures and defense
mechanisms. Since defense will always
remain an imperative goal for the U.S., the DoD recently realized it needs to
start broadening its energy sources to create defenses, foreign and domestic.
Recently, the DoD and U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) formed an alliance.
This alliance has the goal of using alternative energy solutions to
reduce the cost of energy and reliance on foreign sources. By 2025, the DoD plans to make 25% of all
energy used a product of renewable energy sources.
What Energy Consumers Can Learn From the DoD
Since the government usually implements eco-friendly practices much later
than the public, this is a wake-up call.
The government is making a huge effort to invest in energy sources that
are cleaner and self-owned. That is,
they're aiming to create their own energy sources – not borrow from foreign
lands.
This is an important lesson to citizens of the United States.
Look at it like this: the government relies on sources of energy overseas
much like we rely on energy sources provided by local gas companies. Using gas created by local companies once
seemed like the only option. But now, with
alternative heating solutions, there's a choice
U.S. citizens can make that follows the wisdom of the DoD's decision to create
a new energy plan.
Labels: alternative heating solutions
Improving the World – and Your Wallet – with Alternative Heating Solutions
Although many of our
customers are thrilled just to save money on their heating costs, our alternative heating solutions are more than
simple budget helpers. Heating solutions like wood gasifiers and furnaces are
also great for the natural environment.
Get More without Using as
Much
The furnaces we sell
operate at extremely high efficiencies, which ensures that they can release
more energy out of the same amount of fuel. Wood gasification, for instance,
uses a dual burn system that burns both the fuel source itself and the gases
released during the initial combustion cycle, many of which generate a
significant amount of additional heat in the process.
By burning the byproducts
via a recycling system instead of simply releasing them as most fireplaces and
normal wood stoves do, our furnaces and boilers increase efficiency by up to 70
percent. This means that you do not have to deplete as many natural resources
to stay warm, and some of our customers even cut the amount of wood they need
in half.
In addition, the fact
that our products recycle waste gases means that they stay out of the
atmosphere. With many of our boilers, emissions are reduced by up to 90
percent, which is a great way to protect the environment.
Using Fuel Sources with
Less of an Impact
The best alternative
heating solutions use wood sources that are directly renewable, unlike
fossil fuels. In addition, these sources do not need as much human intervention
to generate, meaning that our customers keep their homes and offices warm
without creating as much waste in the process.
For example, natural gas
and coal require mining, well extraction, trucks, tankers, and a whole host of
other energy-intensive methods to get them from the earth to your furnace.
Wood, on the other hand, can often be sourced locally and regrown, and many types
of softwood can be transported naturally by floating down rivers. These factors
combine to ensure that, in addition to being more environmentally sound, our
alternative heating solutions are less market-dependent.
If you're interested in
saving money and the environment, we
have the products for you. Be sure to browse our site, and feel free to contact
us with any questions.
Labels: alternative heating solutions
Get in Shape and Save Money with Wood Burning Stoves
Wood stoves are becoming more popular every day, and there are many reasons
for this. One good reason is that one can get plenty of exercise while
gathering wood for their stove. The cutting and gathering will get quite the
cardiovascular workout, and that can cut costs of going to a gym.
The wood that one burns in their stove is also environmental-friendly. The
smell from burning wood puts out plenty of CO2 and leaves a wonderful smell in
your home. The coziness of sitting by a wood burning stove will make any time a
special time.
Wood burning stoves can help cut on
your gas and electric bills, putting money in your pocket. Power outages can
happen at any time, and one should always be prepared to have heat for their
home if that should ever happen. It never hurts to be prepared for incidences
like an outage. Keeping your family warm in the winter months is important, and
a wood stove will provide you with that security.
Our wood stoves are very easy to clean. They are designed for safety as
everything is enclosed allowing a person to be able to leave their home for a
while without the worry of sparks flying out and starting a fire.
We have many different styles of wood stoves to choose from. They work well in
a home, office, garage, or any other place a person wants to stay warm in
style.
Labels: wood burning stoves
A Gasification Wood Boiler: A Basic Explanation
When someone utters the term Gasification, what comes
into mind? Some may find the word slightly cryptic, while others feel a degree
in Chem. Engineering is crucial to genuinely understand what the term means.
Nevertheless, if you are planning to shop for wood boilers, there are only a
few things you have to be aware of. Gasification wood boilers
provide an array of benefits you won't find in other boiling systems. In fact,
more and more people are now trading off their former boilers for gasification
wood boilers.
Gasification is the process in which
a conversion of carbon-rich materials, including coal and petroleum, into
simplified elements occur. These elements include hydrogen and carbon monoxide
via exposing the pure materials at elevated temperatures. Within the
temperature range of 395 degrees Fahrenheit to 535 degrees Fahrenheit, most of
the gases are dispersed from the wood alongside smoke. These gases comprise 50%
to 80% of the heat value of the wood. The process leads to a gas mixture that
is commonly identified as synthesis gas or wood gas.
If one were to hinder the reaction at this particular phase of the process, the
synthesis gas may be utilized for a diversity of functions. The gas can even be
cleansed of its impurities and cooled to fuel engines and other appliances that
require fuel to run.
In the context of gasification wood boilers, the wood gases do not merely rise
up and exit your chimney, which is the exact case for basic and traditional
wood boilers. Instead, the response is continued and the emitted wood gas is
ultra-heated and combined with air, thus leading to full combustion. The heat
is then allocated to a boiler for effective dispersion. An attractive quality
of gasification is that the full combustion produces little or no ash and
residues at all. This makes cleaning and maintenance a lot easier and simpler.
If you are researching about the efficacy and benefits of a gasification wood
boiler, the bottom line is that gasification wood boilers offering full
combustion are better than conventional water-jacketed wood boilers. Overall,
gasification is very effective in extracting power from various kinds of
natural materials including wood. The process also entails less wood and
substantially reduced emissions, smoke and ash residuals.
Labels: gasification wood boiler
The Case for the Outdoor Wood Furnace
An outdoor wood furnace
is seriously one of the best investments you can make in your home. There is
simply no other device that can produce such quality, consistent heat at such
an incredibly affordable price. Ironically, despite the incredible quality and
consistency of the heat that is produced by wood furnaces, they are very simple
to operate. Many times, they run on autopilot. All you need to do is add more
wood when the wood that is currently burning finally runs out. If you have
firewood piled up somewhere, the process is made even easier because there is
no need to go and out and cut wood. This is definitely a benefit when the
weather (read freezing cold) calls for the heat that a wood furnace can
provide.
So how does a wood furnace work?
Well, in a nut shell, wood furnaces work by burning firewood. The heat from the
firewood is then extracted from the belly of the furnace via a couple different
ways (depends on the type of wood furnace) and then is sent off to circulate
throughout whichever rooms are hooked up to the vent system that the furnace is
connected to. The beauty of the heat that is circulated is that it is a very
pleasant, dry heat - there is no need to worry about humidity, which is usually
the number one cause of houses becoming stuffy. More so, if there is any type
of humidity stuck in your home, the heat from a wood furnace will quickly
dissipate it so that the air feels a lot less stuffy and congested. This is one
of the main reasons why people switch from a traditional heating source to a
wood powered furnace - it provides a better overall air quality within the
property it is heating.
As you can see, wood furnaces are superior to any other type of residential or
commercial heat source. Not to mention, they are a great conversational piece.
Visit our site to learn more about how you can take advantage of this
incredible piece of technology.
Labels: outdoor wood furnace
Why Should I Make the Switch to a Wood Boiler?
Maybe you've been thinking about making the switch to wood as your primary energy source. Maybe you've heard a few things here and there about outdoor wood boilers. Maybe you noticed a friend or family member heating their home with wood. But you're still not quite sure about all of the particulars. What makes wood different as a fuel source? What's so great about it? Luckily, you've found Pro-Fab, and we have the answers you're in search of.
Today it's possible to burn wood cleanly and efficiently, far more so than it was just 10 years ago. The advanced designs of our latest outdoor wood boilers have resulted in reduced overall heating bills for those that have them in their home and far cleaner air. On average, all of the boilers on today's market are 90 percent more environmentally sound than they were a decade ago, according to the independent Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association. Take a look around our product page and you'll find boilers that have been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency as clean-burning. Another great benefit is that the drastically reduced emissions have made burning wood safer than it has ever been.
A need to lean heavily on renewable resources has arisen in the face of ballooning greenhouse gasses and global warming. As you well know, trees convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, so it's ideal to preserve them. The great thing about firewood is that the vast majority of it comes from the harvesting of dead trees, and new ones are then planted in their place. Furthermore, there is no additional carbon footprint left when burning wood, since those same gasses would have escaped into the atmosphere as the trees naturally decomposed in nature.
So what about the other type of green? It's possible to heat entire homes, if they are well-constructed, with wood boilers, and the wood used is relatively inexpensive when compared to other fuel sources. And who doesn't like more money in their bank account?
With so many benefits associated with wood, your decision to turn to it is looking pretty smart right about now.
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Coal-fired power plants are the most common form of gasification, as they
can produce extreme amounts of energy under the appropriate parameters. Unfortunately,
one of the resultant products it creates is carbon dioxide (CO2)
which is one of the largest contributors to global warming. That is where wood
gasification comes in! With slight modifications, the same procedures can be
done through a wood
gasifier with materials that naturally reoccur. Aside from wood, wheat scraps and
a list of other crop leftovers can be burned down to generate the appropriate
gasses. For those who have excess plant matter, such as farmers or woodworkers,
biomass gasification can help both the wallet and the ozone.
