Woody Biomass Courses

Woody Biomass Courses from Able Skills

Coming soon………..

Able Skills dedicated BPEC approved Renewable Energy Training Centre is in the process of being accredited to deliver training courses for Woody Biomass heating.

Renewable energy is the buzz word for now and the future; alternative ways to source energy are becoming more and more popular and individuals are starting to realise that there are more cost efficient and ecologically friendly ways to heat our homes.

Biomass will play a large part within the heating industry, the advantages over traditional fossil fuelled systems are:

•    Biomass fuel is half price or of Oil/LPG.
•    Chips and logs are cheaper than mains gas
•    The price of traditional fossil fuels will rise at an increasing rate as their natural stocks dwindle
•    Biomass is renewable so its price will increase steadily, at an affordable rate
•    High flow temperatures from Biomass boilers
•    Easily retrofitted to any existing central heating systems
•    It is a carbon neutral fuel because the CO2 released during combustion is the same as the amount of CO2 absorbed by the organism during its life.
•    Biomass is grown in the UK so the distance it travels to a consumer is less than that of most fossil fuels
•    Because it is grown in the UK it helps reduce the dependency of the British economy on oil and gas producing countries
•    It will contribute towards the UK becoming a more self-sufficient economic group

Able Skills dedicated Renewable Energy Training Centre can provide certificated training courses for installers who are looking to move their businesses into the energy efficient market or for those of you who would just like to have an overview of woody biomass heating.

There is a strong demand for courses for renewable energy as plumbing and heating engineers are realising that they need to respond to the increase in demand from environmentally and economically conscious consumers.

The woody biomass heating training and assessment course has been designed to comply with the requirements of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).

The course examines modern wood heating with different types of domestic wood fuels, boilers, fuel preparation, chimneys and control systems. There will be practical and theory sessions and full system design will be explored, as well as the legal requirements for installations. This Woody Biomass course includes a BPEC assessment.

This Woody Biomass training is an Industry-recognised Certified Course and this BPEC certificate is recognised under the Micro Generation Certification Scheme (MCS) and can be used by HETAS installers as evidence to apply to HETAS to have ‘biomass’ added as a category of registration – at this stage it is up to 50kW in dwellings.

This course is suitable for candidates who:

•    Have a number of years experience in plumbing or conventional heating or
•    Who are at least knowledgeable about one typical domestic fuel source such as gas, oil, heat pumps or solar as well as experienced with domestic plumbing
or
•    Hold a formal qualification such as NVQ level 3 in plumbing or heating engineering and
•    Hold a pre-requisite hetas 2 Day heating engineers certificate.

If you do not have existing qualifications in these subjects, Able Skills is in a position to help – see Plumbing details below.

Training Course Objectives

The training course for woody biomass heating systems is a four day course; the objective it is to enable candidates to select the most appropriate woody biomass system and installation to suit particular site circumstances, to consult with the client about their needs and demands, to consider fuel types, storage options and to install, maintain and service the common types of woody biomass heating systems in the UK in a safe and workmanlike manner

The training course and manual take the candidate through the following areas:

Introduction to woody biomass heating

•    An overview of the environmental and ecological drivers behind using biomass heating systems.
•    The environmental and other problems associated with the use of fossil fuels.
•    Overview of the greenhouse effect and climate change.
•    Comparative information for biomass resources and other renewable energies.

System costs, funding and government policy

•    An overview of types of renewable energy technologies
•    Reasons for switching to renewables (especially biomass) for heating
•    Promotion
•    Consumer groups to target,
•    Current market in UK.
•    Costs, profitability, comparisons and grants.

Fuel Characteristics, Supply and Combustion

•    Characteristics of wood as a fuel, types available and heating values.
•    Moisture content and drying methods.
•    Logs, chips, briquettes, pellets and other types of biomass.
•    European standards for fuel.
•    Combustion process.
•    System layouts of major biomass systems.
•    Major parameters in combustion process.
•    Combustion efficiency.

Biomass Heating Systems: Technical Overview

•    Typical configurations and where they are most commonly used.

Determining system sizes

•    Calculation of building heat loads, annual fuel requirements.
•    Different types of heating systems.
•    Buffer tanks, flues, fuel storage, building regulations.
•    Pre checks, sizing of components, key installation activities.

Hydraulic systems

•    Co-ordination of boiler system with hydraulic circuit, safety features, lime and legionella contamination
•    Local micro grids

Fuel storage systems

•    Type, location, design and safety features.

Conducting a site assessment

•    Key data required to undertake assessment and site suitability
•    Other potential renewable heat sources
•    Requirements of customer and site
•    Safety hazards for fuel delivery

Installation of woody biomass systems

•    Practice filling/draining/de-aerating sealed plumbing system.
•    Practice lamba sensor/ flue analysers.
•    Practice commissioning anti-condensation by-pass circuit and setting flow/return temperatures

Chimney requirements

System commissioning and handover to client

Health & Safety and Fire prevention

Regulations and Standards

Operation and Maintenance

This course can be undertaken in full to achieve certification or just as an awareness programme

•    Course requirements for certification option:

To qualify for  the BPEC certification you must either be able to provide evidence of experience in conventional heating engineering / plumbing or have passed or be studying for a formal qualification (e.g. NVQ Level 3) in the subject, hold the HETAS solid Fuel awareness Certificate and have attended an un-vented hot water storage course.  

•    Course requirements for non-certification option:

The course can be taken as a biomass awareness course without certification, you need to provide evidence of experience in conventional heating engineering / plumbing or have passed or be studying for a formal qualification (e.g. NVQ Level 3) in the subject, a qualification in un-vented hot water storage is desirable but not essential.

Renewable Energy Training Facilities

The practical training and demonstrations  will take place in Able Skills state of the art dedicated Renewable Training Centre. The facilities are second to none as the centre itself has been furnished with a variety of renewable energy training equipment with no expense spared to ensure that we are amongst the leaders in this particular aspect of training.

Classroom based learning will be undertaken in air conditioned classrooms with an abundance of training aids available to enhance the training process. In addition, you will have the opportunity to work with the equipment in our biomass suite.

Practical assessments and BPEC open book, multiple-choice question assessment will determine a candidates progress to certification. Successful candidates will receive a BPEC Biomass Installers Certificate and ID badge.

Plumbing

Able Skills provides training and assessment for City & Guilds 6129 levels 2 and 3 and City & Guilds 6089 level 2 (NVQ)

Renewable Image Gallery

Book the Above Course

We are sorry but this course is not available for online booking. To book this course, please call us on 01322 280202 or use the form below: