GLOBAL WARMING

More than anything, it all comes down to living in balance. To adjust our activities in a way that allows societies to fulfil their needs and express their greatest potential today while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems to ensure the availability of resources for future generations.

SOLZAIMA AND SUSTAINABILITY

In this regard, Solzaima designs solutions and equipment “moved” by biomass as their primary energy source. This is our contribution for the sustainability of our Planet - an economically viable and environmentally-friendly alternative, following environmental best management practices to ensure an efficient carbon cycle management.

Solzaima cares about being up to date with and assessing the existing forest area while efficiently responding to energetic demands, with a constant watch on biodiversity and natural wealth, critical aspects to the quality of life in our Planet.

IMPORTANCE

Energy is a critical asset for our society and economy as well as the driving force behind almost everything around us. The increase in fossil fuel prices (petrol, coal, gas and derivatives) which occurred in the latest years has evidenced our excessive dependency on these forms of energy. The consequences of their use are widely and publicly known.

Both our society and our planet demand environmentally “clean” energy sources to be sustainably produced to ensure the quality of life and the future for generations to come.

Biomass appears as an excellent alternative. A renewable energy source, derived from natural biological material, such as wood (firewood) or multiple wood residues (pellets).

Wood is one of the most used components in biomass energy production. Due to the existence of a vast forest area and the need to perform annual tree felling and cleaning activities for a healthy forest, we receive a continuous wood supply at competitive and constant prices, maintaining and ensuring the sustainability and a healthy future for our forests. Biomass is already widely used in heat production, but its major potential is yet to be explored. Only 4% of the European energetic needs are met with this form of energy source.

NEUTRAL CARBON CYCLE

Wood is considered as stored solar energy and consists of the following components: water, sunlight and carbon dioxide. The amount of carbon dioxide released by wood (when burned) is actually the same it has extracted from the atmosphere as part of its natural cycle and that is then chemically absorbed by trees. Whether the wood decays in the forest or is burned is meaningless. The carbon dioxide output will always be the same – whether as part of its life cycle or when burned for heating purposes.

The carbon dioxide released during the combustion process is subsequently absorbed by the remaining trees, therefore initiating a natural cycle of carbon dioxide absorption, i.e. neutral carbon.

Wood combustion for heating purposes is an ecologically responsible option since in most European countries there has been a considerable increase in the use of firewood material from forest production, in an average estimate of 40% more than firewood consumption.

ECONOMY

Firewood and wood pellets are today the most cost-efficient sources of fuel for household heating, which means that the investment in biomass heating equipment will pay off in very short time.

The following figure illustrates the differences in cost per kW between the various heating fuels available, taking the cost per kW of firewood as the reference point. The savings obtained when using biomass (firewood or pellets), rather than other forms of fuel for heating, are easily verifiable.

BIOMASS

THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE WAY TO HEAT YOUR HOME

Forests are one of our main resources and one of Nature’s major components due to the critical role it plays in our planet. They are essential to promoting biodiversity, fighting against soil erosion, repairing water systems and contributing to the quality of air and water.

Forests occupy approximately 30% of the European territory which makes it critical to promoting an effective forest management that protects and leverages a relevant community resource while contributing to meeting the emission limits set forth under the Kyoto Protocol.

A healthy Forest Management includes the felling of selected trees and the replantation of new ones, as necessary.

When selecting firewood for your fire stove, you should be aware of certain details, such as density and humidity.

It is important to note that humidity dramatically reduces the heating power of any type of wood. The heating value of a type of wood with 50% of humidity is 2 times decreased. Wood used for combustion should not have a humidity level greater than 18%.

Softwood species (for example, Pine) usually burn faster due to its resin combustion components and offer less density than hardwood species. They prove to be very effective for lighting the fire.

Hardwood species (the remaining trees in the table, for example, Oak and Olive tree) produce more durable firewood during combustion due to their density.

Some trees, like the eucaliptus, produce firewood with a good heating value and a good density but, due to their chemical composition, at high temperatures may become far more corrosive to the equipment.

When choosing your type of firewood, take into consideration the trees existing more abundantly in your region. You will be contributing for a better forest management in your area and avoiding the transportation of firewood between different regions.

SOLZAIMA’S COMMITMENT

Solzaima is a leading player in the production of biomass heating equipment. We have been manufacturing equipment for renewable energy sources since 1978.

WARRANTY

Solzaima offers a warranty period of two years for increased security and peace of mind

QUALITY AND CERTIFICATION

Solzaima’s entire product range stands out by the accuracy and quality in the choice of raw materials, control of the production process and treatment of all residues thereof. All this to ensure your home is fitted with solid and reliable equipment. Solzaima has an ISO 14001 environmental certification and an ISO 9001 quality certification. We regard ourselves as a role model in this respect.

TYPE-APPROVAL

All our equipment is tested and granted approval, in accordance with EC standards, by independent laboratories to ensure compliance with EC Directives for this type of equipment.

SOLZAIMA’S COMMITMENT SUSTAINABILITY

Solzaima has a deep concern with ensuring the Sustainability of our Planet. Our commitment is towards an ongoing improvement of our equipment. Our engineering and development team uses the latest fluid and combustion emulation software for minimizing CO emissions and improving our equipment’s efficiency. This will help you save on firewood consumption while protecting the environment.

EQUIPMENT CLASSIFICACION

EFFICIENCY CLASSES AND EFFICIENCY RATE

As a result of Solzaima’s commitment towards the equipment’s efficiency, most of our products are classified as efficiency class 1, i.e., with an efficiency rate equal to or greater than 70%.

A 70%-efficiency rate means that 70% of the energy contained in the firewood is used to warm your home or, in other words, you are able to produce the same amount of energy with much less firewood.

A Solzaima 5kW fire with an efficiency rate of 75%, i.e. efficiency class 1, will consume approximately 3.5 pounds (1.6kg) of firewood per hour to warm a 389 sq ft room (35m2).

Typically, a traditional fireplace has an efficiency rate of approximately 10%, which means it will consume about 26.5 pounds (12kg) of firewood to produce the same 5kW necessary to warm the same 389 sq ft room (35m2).

POWER

The power shows the heating capacity of your equipment, i.e. the firewood heat transfer delivered to your home (usually in kW) and depends directly on the amount of firewood that is placed in the equipment.

The rated output is the measure of a standard load of firewood when tested in laboratories during a certain amount of time.

The power output is a manufacturer’s recommendation from tests to the equipment with firewood loads within a reasonable operation range. This power output range will present different firewood consumptions per hour.

CO2 AND CO EMISSIONS

CO2 emissions (carbon dioxide) from a fire are environmentally neutral since the amount of CO2 released from firewood is similar when burned or decaying in the forest.

CO emissions (carbon monoxide) depend on the combustion efficiency of the fires, i.e., the more efficient a fire is and the better its combustion process is, the less its chemical loss - CO - the result being a more environmentally efficient equipment.

Solzaima strives for constant improvement of our equipment features. The equipment produced by our engineering team is very different from that of 30 years ago and particularly different from a traditional fireplace.