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WHY HEAT WITH CORN? Corn heating units generate heat by burning shelled corn. Many of these units, however, are also capable of burning other APFI-approved, BioMass fuels such as cherry pits, oats, wheat, rye, barley and wood pellets. There are units designed to heat a single room, entire houses, large buildings, factories and schools. The right choice depends on the needs of the user. Choices can include stoves, furnaces and boilers that can function both indoors and outdoors. Corn units burn approximately 20% hotter and much cleaner than wood units. They virtually eliminate smoky smells or messy clean-ups. Corn units have a fuel supply auger, frequently referred to as a stoker, and a combustion air fan. Many do not require a traditional chimney and use only an exhaust vent that allows fumes to exit a building like a clothes dryer. HOW THEY WORK In most corn burning units, pellets reach the burn-pot via an augur contained within the unit. Some units deliver the corn by dropping it in from above — a top-feed — while others deliver the corn into the bottom of the burn-pot —a bottom-feed or a stoker. Corn only burns with extra oxygen. As the air we breathe contains only 20-21% oxygen, the extra oxygen is supplied by the combustion fan which either pulls extra air through the corn or blows air across the top of the corn pile. The frequency of the auger turning and the speed of the combustion air fan increase and decrease the rate of burn. In many units, these are controlled by a computer chip that receives information from a wall thermostat. A heat exchanger, inside the unit, removes the heat from the gases. A circulating fan blows air across the exchanger, delivering the warm air to the desired area. BENEFITS Corn heating is very cost-effective. There are many reports of 2,000 square foot homes being heated for less than $500 per year. There are even reports of people spending less than $100 per year. To determine your approximate savings, use our "Do the Math" corn heating comparison tool. Corn is an annually renewable fuel source and grown in most states. An estimated 11 BILLION bushel crop was produced in 2005 with an estimated 2.1 billion bushel surplus. Dependence on fossil fuels and other rapidly depleting energy sources could be greatly reduced by the use of corn heat. It takes approximately 40 million years to create fossil fuels (gas, coal, oil). It takes approximately 40 years for a tree to grow to maturity. It takes only 4 MONTHS to grow corn. Since most corn burning units use the oxidizing method, the smoke is virtually odorless and is mainly a mix of carbon dioxide and steam. Unlike ordinary fossil fuels, corn burning does not add greenhouse gases (GHG) to the atmosphere. The carbon emissions are reused every year as the carbon dioxide is reabsorbed by the corn plant during photosynthesis, resulting in oxygen being placed back into the air. AN EFFECTIVE, ECONOMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY METHOD FOR YOUR HEATING NEEDS. Harvester Corn Stove Harvester Corn Stove Insert Bixby Biomass System A-maize-ing Heat Corn Furnace A-maize-ing Heat Corn Boiler Manitoban Multi Fuel St. Croix
108 N. Eagle Street Marshall, Michigan 49068 Phone: (269) 789 - CORN doc@corn2heat.com