I got a question today which was interesting to me.  It came from an artist in North Carolina, Norman Thomas.

Are the stoves adaptable to solar panels (this would be in the future)?  This could heat hot water in the summer and maybe save firing the stove in October and March and/or April?

I guess I've never thought about this, but it's something I'd like to try for my own outdoor corn stove.  We don't have as much sun in Minnesota as we do wind, but whatever sun we do get could surely heat my hot water during the summer months.  With the stove down due to warm weather it would save me some electricity. 

For the stove to work all the piping must be in place and so everything is there in terms of infrastructure to support solar panel operation -- except for the solar panels.  We've already tied the hot water heater into the corn boiler.  (When I say WE, I mean my husband of course.  I supported his efforts, though!!!!!!).

 I wonder if that'll work for us after all.  My situation is complicated a bit by the fact that for the last three years we've (There is the royal WE again…..) cooled our house in the summer by using the temperature of the ground to cool water then pipe it through the floors.  With a few well placed fans and one window mount air conditioner (to dehumidify) the temperature stays at a comfortable level.

 Truth is I'm all for anything that will take me one step further away from my dependence on Fossil fuels and towards something sustainable and renewable.  My grandchildren have to live in this world.  And their children after (should the Lord Tarry that is)  We must be better stewards of this creation than we have been.  Any place is a good place to begin.

"Corn Heat" Google alert - pays off again. 

Today, the Google alert came from the Cattle Network web site and the article explains how heating with Corn should be considered an alternative to heating with traditional means. Here is the URL: http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=205869

MCGA: Thinking About Going Green – Look No Further Than Corn Heat

DEWITT, MICH. – There is a growing trend in the United States to become more environmentally friendly by going “green.” Michigan’s corn farmers suggest Americans use corn heat as a “green” solution for not only reducing our use of foreign fossil fuels, but also as a way to lower home and business heating costs.

Businesses, homeowners, and municipalities can use corn, America’s renewable resource, as their primary heating fuel and make themselves more “green” by using corn heating units. Corn heating units are designed specifically to generate heat from burning corn kernels. Corn heating units are different than wood-burning stoves because they are designed to burn the dry granular fuel. Some units are biomass stoves and can burn other fuels in addition to corn such as pellets, nutshells, small wood chips, and other small grains such as rye, wheat and barley.

Corn is an annually renewable fuel source. It is grown across the United States and has been roughly an 11 billion bushel crop for the last three years. By using corn for heating purposes, we can help to decrease our use of fossil fuels and other rapidly depleting energy sources. As oil and other energy sources are being depleted; corn is replenished annually and therefore makes an alternative fuel source that is renewable year after year. “I take great pride in the fact that I grow corn on my farm and am able to utilize its potential as an energy crop to heat not only my home, but also my shop and office,” added Pat Feldpausch, Michigan Corn Growers Association (MCGA) chairman and a corn grower from Fowler.

Corn heating systems can be used for many different heating purposes. Corn can take the place of other heating sources that have been used in the past, such as electricity, propane, heating oil, natural gas, or wood. Heating a 2,000 square foot home would require approximately 250 bushels of corn a year. “Corn heating units are very economical and are a cost-effective alternative to heating with propane or electricity, or even wood,” said Chris Schilling, an engineering professor at Saginaw Valley State University. “Even with corn around $5.00 a bushel, it is still cheaper to heat with corn than with electricity or propane.”

Not only are corn heating units cost effective, but they are also environmentally-friendly. Since corn heating units are designed to burn under oxidizing conditions, the resulting smoke is nearly odorless and consists largely of carbon dioxide and steam. In addition, they do not emit significant particulate emissions. Unlike the combustion of ordinary fossil fuels, the carbon dioxide produced during corn burning does not add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

For more information on heating with corn, a list of corn heating unit manufacturers and dealers, and a list of corn sellers specifically for corn heat, visit www.micorn.org/heat.

The 2006-2007 selling and heating season was regarded with great expectations by stove manufacturers and dealers.  Early figures looked strong and promising for this year to continue, with the rise in interest and use of corn-burning appliances.  Using corn for heat has become a fast growing alternative to traditional heating methods, especially during times of high fuel prices.  As fuel oil, propane and gas prices continue to rise, homeowners are looking elsewhere for a more cost effective way to heat their homes.  As a result, the corn stove industry is growing at a rapid rate, with the production of biofuels growing right along side it. 

Throughout history, farmers have burned corn as a way to heat their home during hard economic times.  In fact, burning corn dates back to as early as the 20th Century.  During the Great Depression, the market price for corn was very low.  Farmers did not have the money needed to buy fuel, so they burned what was readily available to them - corn.  In the 21st century, one doesn't need to be a farmer to benefit from the low cost of burning corn (although it can help to know one!) and corn is not looked at as the last resort to heat one's home, left only for roughing out the hard times.  In fact, upper-middle class families are also now looking at corn as an alternative to heating their home, as they steadily grow weary of fluctuating fuel prices.

Corn is one type of biomass, which is one of the oldest fuels known to man (in fact, the first campfire can be considered heating with biomass).  Biomass is vegetation, i.e., trees, grasses, plants, corn, etc.  When biomass is burned, it produces heat and energy.  Before 1875, biomass was the primary source of energy in the United States.  Today there is actually an abundance of biomass in the world, with about only 7% of the available annual production of biomass currently being utilized.  If we used all biomass that is potentially available today, in the United States alone, the energy produced from that fuel would be enough to heat 260 million homes! 

With the current political state over seas, and the ever-increasing price of fuel, consumers are looking for a renewable source of energy here at home.  The corn stove industry is realizing the benefits of being a domestic, renewable alternative at a time when consumers are looking for home-grown resources.  In the recent years, heating with corn has flourished, not only because it is a source of domestic energy, but also because it is cheaper, cleaner and it is a more reliable option for home heating.  Many in the corn stove industry remain confident that the market will grow, with the direction of biomass heating as a more preferred source of heating by homeowners. 

According to the Federal Biomass R&D Technical Advisory Committee, all of these factors illustrate the need for increasing domestic resources to address the U.S. energy demand.  This committee has provided a vision and roadmap to guide the U.S. in boosting its rural economic development and decreasing its vulnerability of energy supply to political events or natural disasters.  As a result, the corn stove industry will continue to grow.

Consumers may have noticed fluctuating corn prices in the past year. Despite this increase in prices, burning with corn can still save homeowners a lot of money on their heating bills.  The price of corn has fluctuated some, but not near as drastically as the price of fuel.  The historical price of corn has been between $2.00 and $2.50 a bushel.  In July of 1996 it peaked at $5.55 a bushel.  In January of 2007 it was just above $4.00 a bushel.  Even with these recent fluctuations, the price of corn has remained relatively stable throughout the past twenty years.  There is a consistency in the belief that the price of corn will likely level out again at a new long-term average in the future.  The most common belief is that a bushel of corn will cost around $2.50. 

The cost to heat a home with fuel oil will undoubtedly continue to remain high.  The introduction of biomass alternatives, including corn, offers consumers an economical alternative.  Consumers will continue to seek home-grown resources and America's leaders continue to respond to that need, through research and development of additional energy sources.  The corn burning industry will continue to rise, as it too responds to consumer need.  EZ Burn Manufacturing will be there, ready to provide consumers with a reliable, low-cost energy source.

Resources:

this compilation of Internet resources is presented for your convenience, references :

•  Total Energy Solutions                                       www.gototalenergy.com
•  Magnum                                                          www.magnumheat.com
•  Focus on Energy                                               www.focusenergy.com
•  Biomass Research and Development Initiative         www.brdisolutions.com
•  Corn Marketing Program of Michigan                      www.micorn.org

Burning Shelled Corn to Produce Heat Energy

The combination of high fossil fuel prices and low corn prices has spurred an interest in burning shelled corn to produce heat for heating buildings and for drying grain. Dry shelled corn contains a fair amount of energy and it is relatively easy to handle, so in the short run, it can make sense to use shelled corn as a heating fuel. Here are some factors to consider when making decisions about shelled corn vs. other fuels.

Fuel cost per unit of energy

Shelled corn contains about 7000 Btu (British thermal units) per pound at 15% moisture, or about 392,000 Btu per 56-lb bushel. It is better to use dry corn as a fuel source, because dry corn is easier to handle and store than wet corn, and because dry corn produces more energy per unit weight of corn. Energy content per pound of corn is dramatically lower for high-moisture corn because more of the weight of the corn is water, which doesn't produce any energy, and because more energy from the corn dry matter is needed to evaporate water from the kernels and less is available for heating.

In most cases, equipment used to burn corn (and other fuels) is not 100% efficient, so it is important to use burner efficiency in calculations for heat output. When comparing costs for using different fuels, it is easiest to compare cost per unit of energy produced; cost per million Btu is a common way to compare fuel costs. Cost per unit of fuel, energy content per unit of fuel, and burner efficiency all need to be considered in calculating fuel costs.

Example: Calculate cost per million Btu for 15% moisture shelled corn that costs $2.00 per bushel and is burned in a stove that has an efficiency of 65%.

Cost per million Btu = [$2.00/bu ÷ (392,000 Btu/bu x 0.65 efficiency)] x 1,000,000

= $7.85 per million Btu

Here are energy content, burner efficiencies, and costs per million Btu at average efficiency and the indicated price for several fuels:

Fuel oil, 140,000 Btu/gal, 70 to 90% efficiency (80% avg.), $1.50/gal:

$13.39 per million Btu

Propane or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), 92,000 Btu/gal, 70 to 90% efficiency (80%avg.), $1.00/gal:

$13.59 per million Btu

Natural gas, 100,000 Btu/ hundred cubic foot (ccf), 70 to 90% efficiency (80% avg.), $0.80/ccf:

$10.00 per million Btu

Electricity (resistance heat), 3413 Btu/kWh, 100% efficiency, $0.08/kWh:

$23.44 per million Btu

Keep in mind that the price for corn and for conventional fuels will fluctuate over time and that the cheapest fuel today might not be the cheapest fuel in the future.

Other costs for using fuel

Fuel cost per unit of energy is very important, but you also need to consider the cost for the burner, fuel storage, and other equipment needed to store, handle, and use the fuel, equipment maintenance, and labor to handle the fuel and remove ash. If you are considering new construction or are replacing a worn out system, you can compare the annual cost of owning and fueling a conventional heating system vs. the annual cost of owning and fueling a corn burning system. But if you already have a conventional system that is in good working condition and will be kept as a back up system, then you need to compare the full cost of owning and fueling a corn burning system to the value of conventional fuel saved. A supplemental corn burning system can easily cost several thousand dollars, so annual ownership costs can be a significant addition to the cost of the corn fuel.

Labor costs are likely to be higher for corn burning systems than for conventional fuel systems, although labor costs for corn systems might be lower than for bulky biomass materials (like fire wood, straw, or hay). Very little labor is required to fuel, maintain, and clean conventional fuel systems. Corn-fueled systems can be relatively easy to automate, but some labor is required to periodically refill the corn hopper and to remove the ash or clinkers that are left after corn combustion.

Fuel handling and storage

Corn is easier to handle than some other bulky biomass materials (wood, straw, or hay, for example) because it flows fairly well through hoppers and augers and because corn has a better energy to volume ratio (it takes less space to store the same amount of energy for corn than for bulky biomass materials). But corn is not as easy to handle and is not as energy dense as most conventional fuels.

Corn handling and storage will be relatively easy on farms that produce corn, but it will be more of a challenge for people who don't produce corn - especially for people living in urban areas. Non-farmers will have some difficulty obtaining, hauling, and storing the amounts of corn needed for heating a home or other buildings. Also, the cost per bushel will probably be somewhat higher for people who buy a few bushels at a time.

Owners of corn burning systems who store corn inside their home need to use tight storage containers, clean up corn spills immediately, and avoid storing corn for long periods of time to prevent problems with rodents and with stored grain insects. Some species of insects that infest stored corn could also move into food products stored in the home.

Burner design

Designing corn burners is more challenging than designing burners for some other biomass materials because it's more difficult to get enough air into the fuel pile with shelled corn than it is for bulky biomass materials, and because corn ash melts at a different temperature than ash for some other biomass products. Corn ash tends to produce a hard, glassy slag that can coat the inside of the burner, or corn ash can produce hard chunks (clinkers) that need to be removed frequently (perhaps daily). It isn't impossible, but it would be difficult to build a homemade burner or to modify a wood-burning stove that works well with corn. Several companies that have tried to build shelled corn burners have failed, so it might be best to buy a corn-burning stove from a company that has been in business for several years and that has a number of satisfied customers.

Long run needs for heat energy

In the short term, it might make sense to burn corn to produce heat energy, but it's hard to know whether burning corn makes sense in the long run. If our goal is to find something that farmers can grow that will help solve our need for heat energy, corn might not be the best answer. It takes a lot of energy to grow, dry, and transport corn, it takes a lot of energy to produce the fertilizers and pesticides used to produce corn, production of corn makes the soil more vulnerable to erosion than does production of some other crops, and corn might be more valuable for feed, food, and liquid fuel uses than for heat energy production.

Other sources of information

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has a good website on burning shelled corn as a heating fuel. Keep in mind that the website uses Canadian dollars and a mixture of metric and English units. The website address is:

http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/engineer/facts/93-023.htm

Here are some questions, adapted from the Ontario website, that you should consider before purchasing a corn burner:

• What is the heat output of the burner? Do you know how much heat is needed to maintain the heated space at the desired temperature, to dry the crop, or to meet other needs for heat energy?
• If you are trying to heat your whole house with a stove or space heater, does the house layout allow for the convective movement of heat through the whole house? Most newer houses are not built to allow convective air movement.
• What is the size of the fuel hopper? Will it require filling on a daily, weekly, or biweekly schedule?
• What is the seasonal heating efficiency of the corn burner?
• Does the unit meet UL standards?
• Does the unit have hot exposed surfaces that could cause burns to skin?
• What type of exhaust venting is required? Does it require a chimney with a flue liner or can a combination flue/fresh air vent pipe be used?
• Are you prepared to clean out the clinker daily and clean the heat exchanger of ash on a weekly basis?
• Will the stove handle granular solid fuels other than shelled corn? This is important in the event that the economics of burning corn become unattractive or an alternative low cost pelleted fuel becomes available.
• Will the corn burner be a primary heat source or act as a supplementary heat source? Stoves with small fuel hoppers will not meet heating needs for long periods of time, unattended.
• How and where will corn be stored?

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