Turn Waste Wood into Home Heat: Buy a Pellet Stove
Consider a pellet stove for a convenient, eco-friendly method of home heating that may save you money, too.
February/March 2009
By Steve Maxwell
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Pellet appliances come in three main types: stoves, fireplace inserts and furnaces/boilers, with stoves being the most popular by far.
STEVE MAXWELL
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Wood is a great renewable heating option — widely available and clean burning (in EPA-certified stoves). But for some of us, handling the firewood and tending the fire require too much time. If a traditional woodstove isn’t right for you, you might want to check out pellet stoves, which burn pellets made of compressed wood byproducts and other biomass.
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That’s because the pellet-heating lifestyle fits somewhere between the automated convenience of gas, oil or electric systems and the hands-on requirements of a woodstove. Pellet appliances vary from designs that are lit manually, with heat output controlled directly by the homeowner using a dial or buttons, to those units that ignite electrically, with pellet supply and heat output controlled automatically by a wall-mounted thermostat.
Another reason to consider switching from fossil-fueled heat sources to a pellet stove: It can reduce your carbon footprint. Wood pellets produce almost no net climate-changing carbon dioxide if they are used as fuel — although some fossil fuels typically are used in the manufacture and transportation of pellets.
The technology for modern residential pellet heating systems was invented back in 1983. This technology is now reliable, mature and effective. The main question left to answer is whether the pellet lifestyle makes sense for you. And to answer this question you need a glimpse inside the process.
Life with Pellet Heat
Starting a pellet stove takes about five minutes. Even without a thermostat, you can choose the amount of heat you want, because heat output is variable by changing the setting of a single control that adjusts the exhaust fan speed and the speed of the auger that feeds pellets to the burn pot.
Pellet consumption ranges vary, depending on settings and circumstances. Manufacturers list input in British thermal units per hour (Btu/hr). Maximum input ranges from 30,000 to 48,000 Btu/hr, with many stoves claiming around 40,000 Btu/hr. (Actual heat output will be less because not all wood energy ends up as heat delivered to a building.)
Some models heat one space, while other models can heat an entire house. Depending on the type of stove and how hot it is running, the fans and auger may make noticeable noise, although some models run almost silently.
Although bulk-fed pellet heating systems do exist (they’re especially popular in Sweden), the majority of residential systems in North America rely on 40-pound bags of pellet fuel that are poured into a hopper one bag at a time. The bags are often shipped on pallets protected by weatherproof wrappings, but pellet bags do need to be stored inside a building to keep them dry. Pellets must be bone-dry to burn correctly. Laying in a supply of pellets early is important because mid-winter regional pellet shortages have happened in the past few years. If you plan to rely on pellets for your main heat, consider buying your full winter supply during the previous summer. Don’t leave the purchase until the last minute, or you could be disappointed.
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