wasler familienfoto 02Wood gasifier supplies local heating network with heat from wood chips

The Wäsler family, which owns the sanitation and heating construction firm of the same name, has been operating a local district heating network to heat 13 commercial units and 27 private households in Steinhausen, near Glonn. The network is 870 metres long, and is supplied by a Biomass CHP with an output of 45 kWel and 120 kWth. The generated electricity is fed into the public pipe network. The wood gasifier operates for around 6,000 hours a year.

Wood chips for wood gasifier come from the region

The 1,200 cubic metres of wood chips needed annually for wood gasifier are procured from sources within an immediate ten-kilometre radius.

Wood chips drying:

The woodchips are dried using hot air which is sent through a double floor in a double-bin dryer consisting of two bunkers. The dried chips are then used to fuel the biomass CHP alternately from the bunker.

Technical data of wood gasifier reference:

  • System: Spanner HKA 45 Biomass CHP
  • Output: 45 kWel and 120 kWth
  • Start-up: December 2010
  • Annual operating time: 6,000 operating hours
  • Woodchip consumption: 1,200 cubic metres per year
  • Woodchip source: Various farmers within a 10 km radius

Gallery: (Click to enlarge)