Diffusion of Wooden Biomass Heating Devices for Domestic Use and Their Fuel Consumption

Abstract

As policy that promotes the use of forest resources for energy use was implemented in recent years, the use of wood biomass has been increasing. To use such resources sustainably, it is important to understand that there are separate demands for lumber, for manufacturing paper, and for wood fuel, and to develop a stable supply system in response to these demands. In addition to statistics on timber, whose demands are already monitored, statistics on relatively large-scale demands for wood fuel, such as the amount consumed at plants by power generators and boilers, are being calculated since 2015. However, while some reports are available on utilization at a local level, there are no statistics on the national consumption for small-scale demands of wood fuel, such as wood stoves and pellet stoves used in homes. This study carried out questionnaire surveys to households and suppliers to identify the demand for wood fuel from the perspectives of both sales and consumption. The surveys revealed the ratio of use of wood stoves in households and annual consumption of wood fuel across Japan.