A garden centre is planning to switch from using an oil-fired boiler to a biomass burner following a successful trial.Bernaville Nurseries, the family-run business at Cowley, near Exeter, was moved to experiment with the new system of heating its main growing greenhouse by soaring energy prices and concerns about carbon emissions.

Renewable energy company Treco, based in Kentisbeare, near Cullompton, supplied the biomass boiler, which burns organic matter to produce heat.

The process is carbon neutral because the CO2 released when the biomass is burned is balanced by that absorbed during the fuel's production.

Bernaville marketing manager Trisha Filor said: "Our main growing greenhouse is like a production line for bedding, vegetable and herbaceous plants. We decided to trial this boiler because fuel prices were rocketing last year, but in case it wasn't a success we kept our oil-fired boiler as a back-up system.

"If one night it went out and we lost the whole stock it would be a complete disaster.

"But in fact it has worked and we have saved about 35 per cent of our heating costs, as well as reducing our carbon footprint considerably."

Over the winter, the biomass boiler consumed six tonnes of grain supplied by a local farmer for £80 per tonne and one tonne of miscanthus grass pellets, costing around £150.

"You can also put any sort of biodegradable matter in it, and even a small amount of plastic," added Trisha.

"For us it's great because we can use waste root balls, plant matter and paper and cardboard packaging to produce energy.

"One negative is that it requires more manpower to keep it topped up with fuel, but we don't really count that because we feel it's an environmental issue as well as a money-saving one."

The boiler's efficiency is boosted by a thermostat, which ensures it burns only the amount of fuel necessary to maintain the desired temperature.

Bernaville is planning to complete the purchase of the £4,000 biomass boiler after being pleased with the results of the trial.

Treco is the UK distributor of Italian-made Tatano biomass and wood pellet boilers and heaters.

Co-founder James Trebble said: "They have been building these machines in Italy for 30 years.

"In Austria, two out of three domestic boilers are biomass. It's a massive industry.

"I think biomass is going to be a big part of the new mix of heating.

"Whatever you put into it, you get heat out the other side, so there's no guesswork.

"We have some customers who are making an environmental decision and others who are more attracted by the cost saving of switching to locally grown fuel."