Most often, the quality of pellets can be seen with the naked eye. Just look: if the granules are not too crumbly and there are no foreign elements visible in them, it’s good.
Pellets should contain only wood, without artificial adhesive substances. Therefore, you can also perform an odor test – when burning pellets, your boiler room should smell of wood and nothing else.
You can do it even simpler. It is worth buying pellets with the EN plus A1 quality certificate. Then we can be sure that each batch of product is subject to quality control. The assessment covers, among others: granule size, fines content, mechanical strength, bulk density, and calorific value.
High-quality pellets can be recognized by several important features. Efficient and harmless fuel has a smooth surface and leaves little ash after burning. When choosing pellets, it is worth paying attention to their structure, which should be compact and the surface should be slippery, not matte, but shiny. However, its smell should make you think of real wood. If you smell a chemical odor, take it as a warning sign. High-quality pellets do not contain artificial additives.
In addition, you should check whether the bag with pellets contains too much fines and dust, whether there are any too long granules above 45 mm, or whether you have noticed any soggy granules with matte surfaces on the walls of the bag. This could be evidence of packing insufficiently cooled pellets into foil packaging. Properly cooled pellets should have a temperature no higher than 40 degrees C.
The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) is an independent, non-profit organization established in 1993. Its mission is to promote proper forest management in the world. Over the course of twenty years, this positive idea has transformed into a brand that is recognizable and trusted all over the world. FSC® is guided by the idea of a world in which we are able to meet our current needs for forest products without compromising the good condition of forests, so that they are also available for future generations. When purchasing products marked with the FSC® label, consumers feel they are making positive environmental changes and contributing to nature conservation.
If in doubt, it is worth ordering pellet samples and performing a simple test, thanks to which you will determine whether the pellet contains admixtures of unacceptable substances, if they are physical impurities (sand, plastic elements, etc.). One method is to throw a few granules into a glass of water. After a short time, the granules will soak and swell and eventually fall apart, and we will be able to see whether there are other ingredients that constitute unacceptable artificial additives.
The ENplus A1 certificate is a quality standard used in the wood pellet production industry. It guarantees high quality and standardization of pellet production, which is important for users, suppliers and manufacturers.
ENplus is a certification system established by the European Pellet Council and is recognized as one of the most prestigious certificates in the pellet industry.
The ENplus A1 certificate refers to the highest quality wood pellets that meet strictly defined technical and quality standards.
Main advantages of the ENplus A1 certificate:
1. High quality: ENplus A1 certification means that the wood pellets meet the highest quality standards. This is particularly important because the quality of pellets has a direct impact on combustion efficiency and emission of pollutants into the atmosphere.
2. Energy efficiency: With ENplus A1 you can be sure that wood pellets will burn efficiently, which means higher efficiency and lower energy consumption.
3. Environmental protection: ENplus A1 pellets are made from renewable raw materials, which contributes to reducing CO2 emissions and protecting the environment.
4. Safety of use: The ENplus A1 standard ensures that pellets do not contain undesirable contaminants, which is important for the safe use of pellet boilers and stoves.
5. Shopping made easy: Thanks to the ENplus A1 certificate mark, customers can easily recognize the highest quality pellets on the market.