When Living Energy approached Thames High School to discuss the possible replacement of their 20+ year old coal boiler with a new system fuelled by woodchips, the response was typically sceptical. 14 months later and the school is the first in New Zealand to take delivery of a high-tech Binder boiler, purpose-built to burn woodchips with low emissions and high efficiency. There’s already talk of increasing the workload on the boiler by connecting it to the nearby swimming pool, extending its season into the shoulder months by heating with low-cost woodfuel.

Living Energy made significant modifications to the existing boilerhouse, originally built to house a coal boiler around 40 years ago, and make it into a suitable home for the new 300kw Binder underfed boiler. This work included cutting two new access doors for the removal of the old boiler and installation of the new system, completely rewiring the boilerhouse, installation of the rotary agitator, fuel transfer system, 5,000 litre accumulator tank and a new 14 metre, fully insulated flue.

Fuel for the boiler is sourced from the nearby Thames Timber, who benefitted from a Living Energy installation in 2007. The dry woodfuel is diverted from the sawmills’ own block-chipping operation and travels less than 5km by road to the school, where it is tipped into the above-ground store. This is a huge improvement on the 150km round trip that the coal delivery truck made from Huntly to Thames, delivering significant carbon savings in the transport of the fuel as well as its combustion.

The ultra-clean burning Binder boiler is almost fully automated, and not only reduces the amount of air pollution in the school environment and town, but also frees the property manager up from the dirty and dangerous daily task of de-clinkering and de-ashing the coal boiler.