The state of the art of small-scale pellet-based heating systems and relevant regulations in Sweden, Austria and Germany

The emphasis of this report is on the actual technology of small-scale pellet combustion units and important regulations concerning emissions and pellets. Wood as a heating source has a long tradition in Sweden, but the use of compressed wood pellets in domestic stoves and boilers is rather new. Based on a literature survey, information from manufacturers and test institutes, this report gives an overview about existing technology and investigates how mature it is already. Some comparisons were made to similar heating units in Austria, where this technique is also widely used. It could be seen that the Austrian boilers are more sophisticated including a high level of comfort for the user. On the other hand the simpler Swedish boilers are significantly less expensive, and it is questionable if Swedish costumers are willing to pay for the higher comfort. Relevant regulations concerning emissions and fuel quality are also reported and compared between Sweden, Germany and Austria. In addition some interesting non-official certificates and environmental labels are presented. These give an outlook to future, probably more stringent, regulations.