New real life test method for biomass heating appliances
Recent firewood and pellet room heaters perform excellently under type test conditions. In contrast, typical real life emissions show significantly higher values under usual operation conditions. Consequently, type testing procedures may not account for real life stove operations and, thus, do not allow to distinguish between low- and high-tech appliances. The EU-funded BEREAL (Advanced testing methods for better real life performance of biomass room heating appliances) aimed at the development of a testing method for firewood and pellet stoves that reflects real life operations better and to support innovative stoves that perform well under typical operational conditions. Based on an online survey and field observations, advanced real life emission testing procedures for firewood and pellet stoves were established reflecting real life user behaviour, i. e. by including different load levels as well as the ignition phase and the burnout phase. For quality assurance, the testing procedures include a web-based tool for standardized data calculation and documentation of test results. The stove specific ‘Quick User Guide’ for firewood stoves proved to be an effective tool to improve stove operation by the end user and to increase repeatability. A field test was performed at the end of the project to demonstrate the applicability and practical relevance of the new method. The field test proved that emission values according to the BEREAL method at the test stand and in the field at usual operation conditions were at the same level. A round robin test proved the repeatability and reproducibility of the BEREAL testing procedure. The BEREAL method can be reproduced with the same or even lower variability than the type testing method with exception of particles between different laboratories. To communicate the project idea, the stove industry, public stakeholders, expert audiences, standardization bodies and the general public were addressed. For stove manufacturers, the new emission testing method would allow to promote high quality and, thus, low emission appliances. Moreover, public stakeholders and standardisation bodies are interested in a method reflecting real life stove operation associated with a thoroughly documented procedure that generates repeatable results. Thus, the BEREAL method can serve as a basis for a future quality label for stoves and boost the further development of type testing methods.
Keywords
Biomass heating, room heating, heating appliances, pellet, firewood, BEREAL, type testing, stove
