In colder climates, heating accounts for about one-third of a homeowner's annual utility bill, which is why many are seeking thriftier ways to stay toasty. Freestanding pellet stoves and inserts that fit inside an existing fireplace are an increasingly popular solution.
They look like traditional wood stoves but operate more like a modern furnace. You need only fill the stove's hopper with pellets made from compacted sawdust, set its thermostat, sit back, and get cozy. A mechanical auger deposits the pellets into a burn pot, where they are incinerated at such a high temperature that they create no vent-clogging creosote and very little ash or emissions, which keeps both indoor and outdoor air cleaner.
The best part is that they are about twice as efficient at warming your home as older wood stoves that have not been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency EPA and are vastly more efficient than fireplaces. Pro2ProTip: Pellet stoves heat your home much like a furnace does while also providing a flame to gather around. Depending on your home's size and layout, a pellet stove could supplement the current heating system or be used as the sole source.
And, despite its workhorse reputation, pellet stoves come in a variety of designs to complement any interior style. Read on for This Old House's expert advice on buying, installing, and firing up one of these energy-wise heaters.
Pipes can run horizontally out an exterior wall, vertically through the roof, or up the chimney if adding an insert. Pellet stoves create a tiny fraction of the ash produced by an older wood-burning stove or fireplace, so cleaning is much less frequent. If used daily, empty the ash pan once a week. Pellets are automatically fed from a storage hopper into a burn pot, creating a constant flame that needs no tending. The biggest difference between a pellet stove and its main competitor, a wood stove, is that, inside, the pellet stove is a high-tech device with a circuit board, a thermostat, and fans—all of which work together to heat your space efficiently.
Here are the other key differences between the two. It's a small pill made of wood waste, mostly sawdust. Pellets have a low moisture content, 5 to 10 percent, compared with 20 percent for seasoned firewood. In some regions, you may find pellets made of switchgrass or cornstalks. Corn kernels can also be used in lieu of pellets. If the whir of the fans or the hum of the auger motor bothers you, find another model. Performance is affected by your home's layout, insulation, and regional climate, but generally 5, Btus of fire power will heat square feet.
For a precise match for your space, have a dealer visit your home and recommend a model. Just keep in mind that the warmth from your stove will be concentrated in rooms closest to where it's installed. If used for supplemental heat, one trick is to put the stove near a furnace return vent and run the furnace fan to circulate the warm air throughout your home.
A ceiling fan with its blades turning in reverse can also help distribute warmed air. The time it takes for the stove to pay itself off depends on your current heating fuel. Freestanding pellet stoves, such as this Harman XXV model, have a minimal footprint in a room. They can typically be placed 1 to 3 inches from the back wall and 6 to 7 inches from sidewalls.
Because of the heat they generate, pellet stoves should be at least 36 inches from furniture and draperies and placed out of the main foot-traffic areas, especially in households with small children. The exhaust pipe, which can go straight out an exterior wall or up through the roof or chimney, must be tightly sealed to prevent flue gases from entering the home.
A second intake line provides outside air for combustion. Almost all pellet stoves require a nearby outlet to run the fans, thermostat, and circuit board. Pellet stoves must rest on a noncombustible surface, such as stone or ceramic tile, to guard against errant embers.
A pad should extend 6 inches beyond the door. A traditional fireplace looks great, but it's a poor heat generator. Most of the flame's warmth, plus warmed air from the rest of your house, goes right up the chimney. Pellets are considered carbon-neutral because the CO 2 level exhausted by the stove is similar to the carbon released when wood decomposes naturally on the forest floor. To ensure the stove burns clean and hot, it's important to buy high-quality hardwood pellets from a manufacturer that's a member of the Pellet Fuels Institute.
Pellets are typically bought by the ton, and the average household goes through between 2 and 3 tons of pellets per heating season. Here's how a pellet stove works: You pour pellets into the storage hopper located at the top. An electric auger delivers the pellets from the hopper to the burn chamber.
Sensors within the stove monitor the fuel supply and tell the auger when to drop a new pellet. It will put in just enough pellets to keep the fire burning small but extremely hot. There are never more than a small handful of pellets in the burn chamber at any one time. A pellet stove has a combustion blower that pulls outside air into the stove through a fresh-air vent and then blows out smoke and fumes through a stainless-steel exhaust vent.
There's also a convection blower that draws room air into the stove and blows heated air into the room through a series of heat-exchange tubes. The stove will automatically deliver heat, based on the thermostat setting. All you need to do is keep the hopper filled with pellets.
As with wood-burning stoves, there are two basic types of pellet stoves : freestanding models and inserts that fit into existing fireplaces. And while pellet stoves are typically installed as a supplement to the home's primary heating system, that doesn't mean they can't pump out the Btus.
Medium-size pellet stoves can easily produce between 40, and 50, Btus per hour, enough output to heat more than square feet of living space. If you've got a smaller room to heat, don't worry. Pellet stoves burn so hot and clean that there's very little ash left behind, especially compared with woodstoves. The owner usually has to empty the pellet stove's ash pan just once a week, even if the stove is used every day.
And pellets produce virtually no creosote, which is a major cause of chimney fires.
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