Wood Chip Boiler Biomass Heater - Off-the-Grid Ideas - Normandy Dairy Farm Heated from Hedges

This is a very interesting alternative energy project in that although it is used to heat an individual dwelling, in this case a farmhouse, it actually lies at the heart of what future energy conversion may be all about. There is an ever growing sense that energy and food production needs to be based around small communities. Written article: https://thegreenlever.blogspot.com/2014/03/heat-from-hedges-wood-chip-boiler.html#.VDQ7WNZDt0w The fields surrounding the farm are divided with hedges of deciduous wood. The hedges are trimmed every 15 years and the wood is used for fuel. This cycle has been going on for centuries, maintaining the hedgerows being an essential part of the farm calendar. Traditionally, the bigger branches were cut or split into logs for the fire and the thinner twigs would be collected, tied into bundles (faggots) which could be used in the bread oven. After WW2 many bread ovens fell into disuse, resulting in most farmers/landowners burning these smaller twigs in the fields where they were cut. This amounts to about one third of the total amount of combustible material being wasted. The solution Michael and Lydie have adopted is to heat their large farm house using a wood chip boiler, the chips are produced from ALL of the hedge trimmings. Ironically over the last decade with the return in France to traditional artisan bread-making coupled with the restoration of bread ovens, faggots have become in high demand but thankfully there is enough coppiced wood to go around!
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