Cecilia Andersen

Wednesday, March 07, 2007   (updated Tuesday, June 19, 2007)

What triggered your interest in renewable energy?
Moving into an older home meant making some decisions – the house wasn’t really functional. And money made a difference. It was far too expensive to heat our old house with fuel oil. We did consider a ground to water heating system, but the wood pellet boiler is a better choice in a large house with lots of space.

Did some particular event spark your interest?
I grew up with renewable energy. We had wood burners and a windmill in my childhood home. It’s been a natural choice for me to choose renewable energy, while my husband relied more on an assessment of the economic consequences.

The Wood pellet burner was cheaper oil.

How has the economics of renewable energy influenced your involvement in these questions?
The financial aspect has been crucial for the choice of the wood pellet furnace, because we wanted to cut the heating costs of living in such a large house. The Finnish mass fireplace is also en economically sound choice because we have quite a lot of firewood on the property, but it also adds a beautiful sculptural aspect to the kitchen, something both cozy and authentic. We thought we would use the mass fireplace for cooking as well, but have to admit this hasn’t happened very often.

What have you earned or saved in dollars and cents?
We can’t compare with a whole year’s heating expenses before we made the changes, but we use about 12 tons of wood pellets a year. The equivalent amount of energy in oil would be much more expensive. We don’t use the wood pellet boiler in the summer months.

The Finnish mass fireplace has become the central place in the house for the family.

Has your renewable energy system changed your daily routines?
Our renewable energy systems are a big change compared with life in an apartment where you just turn the heat up or down. We fill up the wood pellet bin every 2-3 days, and empty ashes and vacuum the burner every two weeks. Cutting, splitting and stacking wood for the mass fireplace and wood burner also entails a lot of work.

What do you think about the objective to make Samsø a renewable energy island?
It’s a fantastic project and idea and I’m very happy to live on an island with such wonderful objectives. Many more areas should be doing the same thing and I’m sure that the commercial arguments for this development will soon prevail. Renewable energy was at one time a question of ideology, but it’s more and more a necessity – and lots of homes are investing in wood pellets furnaces on economic grounds alone.

Do you have good advice to others who might like to invest in similar domestic heating systems?
Running a wood pellet furnace involved a certain amount of work, but everyone I know with wood pellet furnaces are quite happy with their choice. Visiting other homes with renewable energy installations is a really good idea, especially homes that resemble your own. Ask them about their own experiences and assessment of the pros and cons. You’ll have a much better idea about what is involved. For example, we didn’t realize that there has to be room for firewood indoors, near the fireplace, certainly much more than the few pieces of wood shown in the advertisements.

Would you have done things differently if you had to start over?
No, I would like to expand with our own windmill, but that’s another matter.