Are you considering a wood pellet stove? It is a great solution to reducing your heat costs. Wood pellet stoves are a great way to add a primary or secondary heating system to your home. Wood pellet stoves burn wood, which is carbon neutral making it a great choice for the environment more-so than natural gas or petroleum-based fuels. Although wood may be more accessible, wood pellets offer the added benefit of burning cleaner. Wood stoves are still the traditional choice, but pellet stoves are gaining traction and popularity because of convenience and earth-friendly appeal. Whether choosing either type of stove, use the following questions to find the right solution for you:
- What type of installation do you want? Freestanding or insert?
- How much space do you need to heat?
- How much effort do you want to take to heat your home?
- What type of fuel do you wish to burn?
- What options or features do you want?
Wood Pellets
Pellets have the lowest emissions of all fuels, and typically come from scrap wood, furniture manufacturers, recycling centers, roadside scraps, sawdust logging residue or paper packaging plants such as our local mill. The pellets are dried and compressed into small cylinder shaped pieces of wood that will remind you of rabbit food. Their density allows them to burn efficiently producing a lot of heat with very little ash.
Wood Pellet Stoves By the numbers
- Freestanding models can heat from 1,000-to-3,000 sq. ft.
- Burns about 15% more efficiently than wood stoves
- Uses less electricity than four 100-watt light bulbs even on the “high” setting
- Pellets contain about 15%-50% less moisture than wood
- A 40-lb bag can provide 20 hours of non-stop heat
- Some hoppers can hold 240 lbs of pellets
- One ton of pellets equals 2.8 barrels of oil