Wood Pellet Stoves

The wood pellets are automatically fed into the wood pellet stove through an electrically controlled auger system. Due to the fact that they require 110V to operate, a wood pellet stove is not necessarily the supplemental heat system of choice if you are concerned about a loss of electricity and your main home heating system.

Wood pellet stoves heat output capacity is measured in BTUs, as all other heat delivery systems are. Wood pellet stoves are available in a wide variety of BTU output levels, varying from 10-80K BTUs. Wood pellet stove prices typically range around $1,500 to $2,000 and they are available in top-fed and bottom-fed models, each with their own unique pros and cons. There are also two main styles of pellet stoves, free standing ones and fireplace insert ones. They are also available with a variety of options including remote thermostat control. Compared to traditional wood stoves, wood pellet stoves are extremely efficient and produce little smoke and ash.

Therefore they do not require as big a chimney to expel the smoke and ash. In addition, they produce relatively little ash that needs to be cleaned out of the ash pan. That said, they should be cleaned fairly often to make sure the mechanical parts do not get jammed.

Due to the number of moving parts and complexity of wood pellet stoves they are prone to frequent maintenance issues and regular care. When buying one it’s often wise to sign up for a regular maintenance schedule.

Wood pellet stoves also tend to be a bit messy, at least around the hearth area. Similar to dried dog or cat food lying around a pet’s dish, so do pellets end up spilling and lying around wood pellet stoves. From a cost of operation standpoint it is debatable about a wood pellet stove’s true energy cost savings. If you were to plan to heat your entire home on a wood pellet stove you could possibly need several tons of wood pellets for the year. Besides the actual cost of the wood pellets you also need to factor in the cost of delivery. Then there are the maintenance costs associated with a wood pellet stove that need to be taken into account.

In the end, the only way to assess if a wood pellet stove will truly provide more cost effective heating of your home is to compare your current actual oil, gas or electric heating costs with the expected costs of a pellet stove.

In addition, you need to factor in the storage of the wood pellets, particularly when you are buying it by the ton. Often a large bin needs to be constructed in a garage or basement to store them.

So before running out and buying a wood pellet stove its best to first do your math homework and carefully consider all the other non-financial aspects of owing one prior to taking the plunge.