The Pellet Stove – An Under-Appreciated Heat Source

As temperatures continue to go and the cost to heat the home carries on increase, we start to scramble for affordable alternatives to gas and oil. Lets you know people drift toward electric space heaters, gas fireplaces, gel fuel fireplaces another secondary heat sources, the pellet stove is often bi-passed completely. It’s to be able to spotlight this very special, all-too-frequently ignored heat source. Here are the basics.

What Is a Pellet Stove/What are Pellets? Pellet stoves are fuel burning appliances that burn “pellets” rather than oil, gas or coal. Typically running on electricity, pellet stoves have built in thermostats, exhaust blowers and some sort or other of a venting system that must be installed in the home. The “pellets” themselves are typically made from 100 percent recycled sawdust, wood chips, bark, agricultural crop waste, recycled paper or other organic provides. About the size of a cornel of bran cereal, there are different varieties of pellet stoves that burn different types of pellets. Corn pellet stoves burn corn pellets, wood pellet stoves burn wood pellets and regular pellet stoves burn a variety of types of pellets – just make sure you read your stove’s directions before burning a specific type of pellet.

How Efficient Are Pellet Stoves? They are extremely efficient to operate. Distinct that but they are low maintenance and simple to use. Pellet stoves have a much higher combustion rate and heating efficiency than wood stoves or fireplaces. Combustion efficiencies for pellet stoves tend to range from 75 to 85 percent, which make them exempt from the E.P.A.’s smoke-emission testing requirements and heating capacities range from 8,000 to 90,000 B.T.U.s by the hour (way more than the 3,000 B.T.U.s put out by most gel fireplaces), making them suitable for condos, homes and apartments. Pellet stoves produce minimal contamination and are considered to be the cleanest of all solid fuel-burning residential heating appliances.

How Stylish Are Pellet Stoves? May become kind of stove was to lose points anywhere, always be be in the style department. Many pellet stoves are slightly clunky and awkward in appearance, all of them more difficult to complement certain decor varieties. If your home is leaning in an extra modern/contemporary direction, are generally some pellet stoves for you to think! There are also pellet fireplace inserts which can be retro-fit over your overall wood fireplace to buy more energy efficient/heat efficient option with your home. These are more subtle in appearance, simply slipping over your existing fireplace. Whatever your style, there’s probably a pellet stove to match your sensibilities, anyway, being energy efficient is generally in style, most desirable?

How Much Would it Cost Me? Additionally to its physical appearance, another potential downside is the way it might drive up your Electric fireplace bill. If you are considering utilizing a pellet stove as the secondary heat source for a room and gas or oil heating elsewhere in your home, your bills be apt to be compared to you might just like. On the other hand, if you choose use a pellet stove as your home’s primary heating source, you’re almost certainly going to save money. Acquiring the pellet stove itself is probably going to cost you between $1,600 and $3,000, depending on what style you elect.

How Easily Are These Pellets Pellets should accumulate at most hardware stores or outdoor supply stores, though very best bet end up being online. Pellet fuel typically is sold in 40 pound bags about $3 to $4 dollars each. Foods high in protein also get pellets for $120 to $200 per ton. One ton of pellets equals equal to.5 cords of firewood, in order to give you some kind of comparison. Homeowners that use pellet fuel as their main source of heat typically review 2 to 3 tons of pellet fuel per calendar year.