As temperatures continue to go and the cost to heat the home continues to increase, we start to scramble for affordable alternatives to gas and oil. While many people drift toward electric space heaters, gas fireplaces, gel fuel fireplaces some other secondary heat sources, the pellet stove is often bi-passed completely. It’s time to spotlight this very special, all-too-frequently ignored heat source. click 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 type of a venting system that must be specifically what drives the home. The “pellets” themselves are typically developed from 100 percent recycled sawdust, wood chips, bark, agricultural crop waste, recycled paper or other organic materials. About the size of a cornel of bran cereal, there are different forms 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. Not only 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 residences. Pellet stoves produce minimal associated with the and are considered for the cleanest of all solid fuel-burning residential heating appliances.
How Stylish Are Pellet Stoves? Whether or not this kind of stove was to lose points anywhere, it would be in the style department. Many pellet stoves are a bit clunky and awkward in appearance, making them more difficult to complement certain decor variations. If your home is leaning in a different modern/contemporary direction, you can apply some pellet stoves for you believe about! There are also pellet fireplace inserts which can be retro-fit over your existing wood fireplace as a more energy efficient/heat efficient option to match your home. These as well 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 should be considered in style, right?
How Much Will it Cost Me? As well as to its physical appearance, another potential downside is the way it might drive increase electric bill. If you’re are considering any pellet stove as being a secondary heat source for a room and gas or oil heating elsewhere in your home, your bills usually tend to be higher than you might just like. On the other hand, if you choose use a pellet stove as your home’s primary heating source, you’re supposed 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 Accessible Are These Pellets Pellets should be available at most hardware stores or outdoor supply stores, though really best bet end up being online. Pellet fuel typically is purchased from 40 pound bags at around $3 to $4 dollars each. May get also get pellets for $120 to $200 per ton. One ton of pellets is dependant on equal to one.5 cords of firewood, just to give you some form of comparison. Homeowners that use pellet fuel as there are tons source of heat typically learn 2 to 3 tons of pellet fuel per holiday season.