MADISON — Heating bills can be sizable even during a mild winter. If you are using LP gas or heating oil, wood energy for heating might be able to save money during next winter’s bone chilling nights.
Two free webinars will provide the basics about using wood energy for heating. Topics covered include different types of wood fuels, wood burning appliances, the economics and available financial assistance to help offset the cost of converting to wood. Anyone who is interested in learning more about renewable energy, and specifically wood energy, will benefit.
Dates and topics of the webinars are:
- March 16: Types of Wood Fuels and Appliances
- March 23: Feasibility Assessment Tools, Grant Funding and Case Studies
Both webinars will start at 11 a.m. and end about 12 p.m. and include time for questions. Pre-registration is required at www.planetReg.com/E3111204810242 or go to www.wisconsinwoodenergy.com under the News and Events tab for a link. The webinars will be recorded and posted at www.wisconsinwoodenergy.com at the end of March.
Wood burning technologies have almost doubled in efficiency over the last 10 years leading to more efficient use of wood with significantly reduced smoke emissions. Today cordwood appliance efficiency ranges between 60 to 79 percent, while some wood pellet appliance efficiencies are over 90 percent.
Wood energy can be used for heating buildings, process heat for factories, produce electricity, heat and power for a campus and even cooling for air conditioning.
If you have interest in looking at a commercial or industrial sized application, please contact us directly for assistance.
This webinar series is presented by the Wisconsin Statewide Wood Energy Team and the University of Wisconsin-Extension and is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Forest Service. For more information, contact Scott Sanford at sasanford@wisc.edu.
— University of Wisconsin-Extension
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