Fire Walks Promote Affordable Wood Central Heating Systems

The first in a new series of fire walks took place across Exmoor recently to promote affordable wood central heating systems for farms and households.

Over the past few years homeowners across the area have seen huge increases in the cost of domestic oil and gas. The installation of a wood fuelled boiler would help to slash annual fuel costs, over two thirds less in some cases, as well as help to protect the environment by reducing the emission of carbon gases into the atmosphere.

Fire walks is a way to showcase the benefits of wood fuelled systems, and help people understand the practicalities and logistics of installing them. Often the perception is that wood boilers are expensive and time-consuming to install and maintain. With recent modern developments this perception is really a thing of the past. The fire walks are a way for anybody who is thinking about changing their current heating system to find out more for free.

Real life energy savings

The first property visited on the walk is Higher Court Farm at Treborough. Owner, Mark Weatherlake has found his 25 Kilowatt log boiler, which provides central heating to the farmhouse, excellent. His oil bills have been dramatically reduced, he expects to see payback on his initial investment in just a few years, and over time looks to make significant savings on his energy bills.

Gillian Millman from near South Molton, who attended the first fire walk with her family, said, “It was good to see the different boilers working in situ before any decision to buy one needs to be made. Having the opportunity to talk to the owner directly about the benefits of the boiler and how to get around any problems encountered was really valuable, and something that you wouldn’t get in a shop.”

To complement the fire walks a grants scheme has been set up and funded by Exmoor National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund to help people purchase and install log or wood chip boilers, thereby encouraging the use of renewable sources to meet local energy needs and the development of a market for the supply of local sustainable wood (which Exmoor National Park has a lot of).