The power of woodchips
We’re not just about selling garden furniture here at GFC, we’re about sustainability and finding greener ways of living. You may have already read or heard about our Plant a Tree campaign, whereby we planted a tree for every teak bench we sold, or our project working alongside Love Logs the well-known sustainable logs company. As well as ensuring most of our teak products are FSC certified, we have also implemented other ways of keeping the planet healthy by installing solar panels to power our electricity, and a woodchip burner to power our heating system. Let’s dive into this a little more…
GFC and other businesses at Yew Tree Farm have been relying on a woodchip burner to keep their facilities warm for over a decade. This environmentally sustainable heating system is powered by wood sourced from the well-managed woodland known as Austy, which is located in our local area. The wood undergoes a meticulous process after being harvested – it is chipped and processed through our hopper, ensuring that the wood is ready to be used as a clean and eco-friendly heating source. Following this, it is carefully dried in our grain store until it reaches the optimal moisture content. Thanks to this approach, we can enjoy warmth during the winter months while minimizing our impact on the environment.
How is burning wood reducing our carbon footprint?
When trying to create a more sustainable life for ourselves and our planet, many of us ask, is what I’m doing actually helping the planet, or am I just adding to the problem? Well, when it comes to burning wood you can relax, because we’re about to tell you why this helps!
As we know, during a tree’s natural growth, its leaves will begin to absorb carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen and keeping the carbon locked in until the tree dies or is burnt. Decomposing trees release the carbon dioxide they have kept back into the atmosphere creating a carbon balance. So, when you’re burning logs, you’re not causing an increase, you’re helping to even it out.
If you want to help even more, you can source your firewood from locally managed forests, like Austy, to ensure fewer carbon emissions are released through transportation. Not only that but managed woods are vital for managing and maintaining healthy ecosystems to allow wildlife to thrive!
The power of Solar
Our commitment to sustainable energy doesn’t stop at heating! We have also installed solar panels on the roof of our building to power our electricity throughout our showroom, embracing a clean and renewable energy source. With over 150kw of solar panels, this enables the entire Yew Tree Farm center to be powered efficiently, as well as battery storage to allow the system to operate overnight.
How do solar panels work?
Solar panels are made up of multiple cells which generate a flow of electricity without the need for direct sunlight. However, if there is a stronger supply of sunlight then more electricity is generated. So, you can produce enough energy to power your home or business without having to rely on the national grid by just using solar panels. Resulting in, not only helping the planet but reducing the cost of your energy bills too!
Our solar panels are completely compatible with all our Power Banks and Hybrid Inverters so you can create your very own solar system, and you can do all this by heading over to our Kingdom Solar website!
Join us in becoming more sustainable, whether that be at home or making small changes in your working environment. Every little change makes a big difference!
