In December 2010 Danny Malanaphy of Swanlinbar Mushrooms in Co Cavan made significant changes to his on farm heating infrastructure in a concerted effort to reduce his farm running costs. Having looked at several companies Danny chose to work with EcoTwo Ltd, a company specialising in designing renewable energy solutions to the mushroom sector.
Danny like most involved in mushroom farming depended on oil for his heating needs and as such was open to the volatility of international oil trends.
Since its installation Danny has measured the performance of the new solution to keep an eye on how much he has saved with his decision to move to Biomass. “The work was carried out under the on farm investment scheme and with oil prices continuing to rise,the solution will have paid for itself in under 3 years from date of installation. I chose biomass over other solutions like heatpumps because it breaks the link with mainstream fuel permanently. I did not like the idea of moving from the uncertainty of oil prices to the uncertainty of electricity prices which fuel heat pumps.
At the time of installation I was spending approx. €37,000 on oil – which would translate to about €60,000 at today’s prices. I am now paying approx. €11,000 per annum on woodchip”.
“What’s really interesting is that woodchip has only increased by about 3% in price since I installed the unit and oil has shot up to €900 per 1000lts. The increase in chip price is mainly linked to a rise in transportation costs. Breaking the link to oil and was a key decision for me and one that I am very happy to have made”.
Fig 1 – Heating oil trend since Danny’s Move to wood chip
“I have had no problems with my biomass solution to date and would strongly recommend the team at EcoTwo as they are experts in the field of heating solution design”.
About EcoTwo
EcoTwoare expert in renewable energy equipment including,Wind turbines, Biomass boilers, Solar Thermal, Solar PV and heat pumps. EcoTwo will design solutions to meet your site specific farm needs. EcoTwo have a Patent pending on their CO2 extraction system, which was designed and tested to meet the needs of the mushroom industry. All NI work is completer through our MCS registered company EcoFit- meaning that NI clients can take advantage of local initiatives.
To arrange a site visit from EcoTwo Ltd contact 0596451865 and Rosemary will schedule the visit.
