How It Works

• Outdoor boilers are generally installed about 100 feet from your house. Heat from the boiler gets pumped to your home through insulated, underground piping. The heat is then distributed through your regular home heating system.
  
  

Fuel

• Boilers suitable for burning corn or wood rely on bags of wood pellets, chopped wood or shelled field corn for fuel. You may need to fill up the boiler once or twice a day with your fuel depending on how much heat you require.
  
  

Benefits

• For many homeowners, accessing bags of corn or wood pellets is as easy as heading to the nearest hardware store. The boilers also help keep heating costs to a minimum.
  
  

Disadvantages

• Outdoor wood boilers create three to five more times pollution than wood stoves, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology. Wood boilers also may emit toxic combustion products related to heart disease and cancer.