High Efficiency Biomass Heating for Remote and Off-Grid Homes

For many regions in Canada, wood is a plentiful and renewable resource that can be burned to offer low-cost and reliable heating for homes and buildings in remote communities. This project will support Demizine Inc., a Canadian company focused on remote and off-grid technology solutions, in developing a new forced-combustion heater system. The wood burning process will be automatically controlled to maximize efficiency and minimize harmful pollutants. To regulate room temperatures, a dedicated heat storage material will collect the heat from the fire and will transmit it to the room slowly over a long time. Some of the heat produced will also be converted into a useable electrical supply to reduce the demand on local generation. The challenges that this project will investigate include how to prevent soot buildup; how best to use the heat storage material; how to control the fire and how to efficiently convert some of the heat into electricity. If the project is successful, it will lead to an improved biomass-based space heater that is low-maintenance, reliable and efficient while also providing a reliable source of electrical power. This will provide substantial benefits especially for remote and off-grid residences and commercial buildings.

Faculty Supervisor:

Sami Khan;Gordon McTaggart-Cowan;Sami Khan

Student:

Partner:

Demizine Technology Inc;Ingenious Holdings Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing; Utilities

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program: