A lt e r n at i v e F u e l s
said. "It's quite a process because you have to build infrastructure
as you go."
Initially the company sold metal containers to be placed on
customers' property. But, Vincent said, "People do not want a
metal silo in the back of their yard. It's just not going to happen for them." Now the company is offering containers made
of wood, which can be painted or covered in the same siding
as their house, Vincent noted. "It looks like an outbuilding – a
tool shed."
Vincent Heating offers and installs pellet boilers manufactured
by Kedel, Portland, Maine, as well as Maine Energy Systems in
Bethel, Me., Newmac Mfg. in Debert, Nova Scotia, and Pellergy
in Montpelier, Vt.
"The market is starting to develop," Vincent said. "The technology is here. We've just got to educate people." A wood pellet
boiler can cut a customer's oilheat bills in half.
Wood pellets can be stored outside a house or other building and easily transmitted to a boiler, Vincent said, adding that
Vincent's Heating is applying for a patent for a system that will
enable users to feed more pellets to their unit with a press of a
button. (See sidebar for a warning on potential hazards associated with wood pellet storage.)
"The market is starting to
develop. The technology is here.
We've just got to educate people.
A wood pellet boiler can cut a
customer's oilheat bills in half."
— Patrick Vincent, Vincent's Heating & Fuel Service
C.B Haskell Fuel Co. ventured into wood pellets and related
equipment in 2008, said Kim Haskell, service manager for the
company. The company offers customers the Woodpecker, a
pellet-gasification boiler by a manufacturer based in the United
Kingdom. Nelson & Small, Inc., Portland, Maine, is a distributor
of the units, which are billed as self-cleaning, and equipped with a
hopper to collect ash. A user must empty the hopper periodically,
Haskell said, but no scraping or vacuuming are required.
www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2013
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