NY Soapstone said:
It's also very easy for an oil furnace efficiency to deteriorate considerably compared to target efficiency.
-Colin
And I suppose a Pellet Stove gets lower as flyash builds up in the heat exchangers. All in all, I think using 75% as an AFUE (total efficiency including excess air pulled out of house, etc.) for BOTH pellets and oil (and corn for that matter) is fair. Sure, some are higher and some are lower, but this is a average you'll find in actual real world conditions.
Never discount the "cool gadget" factor....or the "don't want to think I spent big money on a turkey" factor. These truisms have been proven over and over again. Heck, most Americans still think Saddam had something to do with 9/11 (That's the "Don't want to spend 500 billion on a turkey syndrome).
The power of suggestion is extremely powerful. Here are some stories from my drug-induced and business past:
1. When I was 15 and hanging out at the beach, some kids told me they had a pot farm and that, for $15, I could pick all I want. Having never seen either a farm nor a pot plant, I rounded up some friends and trash bags. We picked a bunch and stuffed the bags into the trunk.....and, of course, rolled up some dry leaves and started to smoke.
Well, next thing you know we are nice and high, and the police pull us over. Of course, this is like "Up in Smoke" cause when the windows are rolled down, the smoke pours out. We are brought in along with our stash.....
Ha Ha, they tested it and it was not pot at all. They let us go!
2. One year at the VC dealer meeting/dinner, they had a motivational speaker. The man left a string, washer and a piece of paper with a target on it on each table. We tied the string to the washer and he had us hold it in the air over the center of the target.
Then he made suggestions such as "look, the washer is swinging left and right" or "look, it's rotating around the center of the target" - and, guess what? It did! And 700 people were personally watching this happen at the same time. I tried to grab my wrist and make it stop, but it would not....the power of suggestion was too strong!
So, when the customer buys a legendary stove from a top dealer, gets the good pellets and spends a lot of money - he or she is very heavily invested in the machine. A typical stove owner will say "That thing paid for itself the first time I sat in front of it and warmed myself".
There is also no doubt that people feel good about heat that comes from renewable sources. This warms the heart.
Space heat, in my opinion, saves as much as 1/3 or more over central heat - whatever the fuel.
So, taken together, this represents a very positive experience.
The biggest "Emporers New Clothes" story in the hearth biz was the original Dutchwest. Horrible stoves, ugly and poor quality. I would give them 1 star if a hotel or 3 out of 10 on a 10 scale. Yet they were outselling VC. Why? Three factors:
1. They were having a "sale" all year
2. They were spending incredible amounts of money to promote them
3. Once a customer had one...and they usually had no experience with anything else, they were not likely to admit they had a turkey. After all, that means admitting that you'd been had.....
I guess all I am promoting here is that customers and dealers should be educated and professional hearth stores should not withold important information from shoppers. Of course, shoppers should ask....if someone walks in the door and says "I want a Pellet Stove, which one should I buy". the retailer is not about to start from scratch.