Realistic heating of a home with a pellet Stove

[Mike Wilson]

Looking at it dollar for dollar, unless you are either 1) burning a very expensive fuel (propane, etc.), or 2) getting inexpensive pellets (<$200/ton), I think that the savings you are going to realize from burning pellets is the natural savings inherent with burning a zone heater, which is what a pellet stove (or wood stove, or coal stove) really is.

Any whole house heating system has inherent inefficiencies which can be overcome by using a zone heater, but at that point the savings do not come from the nature of the fuel, as much as they do from the method of heating. Whole house heating systems are installed, in large part, for their inherent convenience. By burning a zone heater, you are exchanging some of that convenience for efficiency. Like everything, it's a trade off. That said, zone heaters are always more efficient, and there can be noticeable savings involved with burning a zone heater.

-- Mike

 

[Jabberwocky]

I disagree with Webmaster. My fireplace insert pellet stove cost $3000 installed in Oct. 2005. Since that time, I have saved over $2,000 over the cost of fuel oil. Fuel oil right now is $3.25 a gallon. I use 450 gallons a year in fuel oil to heat. Thats $1462.50 if oil does not go any higher this winter, which of course it will. I spent $675 for pellets this year so the net savings just for this heating season will be at least $787.50. Hence at the end of this heating season, the stove will have paid for itself and going forward it will have saved me big dollars.

I disagree with the webmaster and agree with Minnow. I'll save approximately $1000 this year and it may vary from year to year due to cost fluctuations .. but I'm looking at a 3-4yr payback time for the stove.

All that being said, Job #1 is insulation. You want thermal efficiency no matter what the fuel source.

 

[Jabberwocky]

I heat my entire 1650 sq. ft home with my Advance pellet stove. I think alot has to do with the layout of the house. The first floor is an open design and I have an open staircase leading to the upstairs bedrooms. The living room where the stove is is 75 deg. The upstairs bedrooms and the bedrooms on the opposite side of the house are about 70 deg. I burn an average of a bag and a half per 24 hr period and about two bags per day when the temp is below 20 deg.

I said it before and I'll say it again; If it costs me the same to heat my house with pellets as it does with oil I would still burn the pellets. Its my way of saying "kiss my buttocks" to the oil companies. Its also nice to have a constant fire in the living room. That warm and fuzzy feeling.

Although, I know for a fact I will save about $1000 in heating costs this season.

My numbers, layout and attitude are exactly the same as yours.

 

[minnow]

Another advantage to me is that I buy my years worth of pellets in the summer and I'm done worrying about heating costs for the year. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not missing getting a $400 + fuel oil bill in January. It's nice to pay for the pellets once and foget about it until next summer.

 

[hearthtools]

Another advantage to me is that I buy my years worth of pellets in the summer and I'm done worrying about heating costs for the year. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not missing getting a $400 + fuel oil bill in January. It's nice to pay for the pellets once and forget about it until next summer.

and you are not running around like a chicken with your head cut off looking for pellets in January or every after February because the big box stores stop selling pellets at the end of February.

 

[Deed]

It's nice to have a say on out our reliance on oil and the crazy world of the middle east and commodities traders. I don't think our government gets it. Their heads are too far up there A____. Next car I get is going to be a hybid or something less reliant on gas. Keep burning those pellet or other alternative fuel and continue to look for other source to keep us less reliant on other parts of the world.

No of any good alternative to a hot water tank heated with oil?

 

[deadeye316]

Im getting our Enviro omega installed first week and jan. I cant wait. Not only for some what of a savings but to be more comfortable. We spend the majority of the time in the living room and at 70 hot water baseboard doesnt seem that warm. I went to my friends house older home and he has a harman and I was so impressed by how warm it was I started doing research and went with a pellet stove. like another board member said its not just the savings but sticking i to the oil industry and having the comfort and the looks of a nice heating source.

 

[jed12674]

I think it all comes down to how well your homes can retain the heat from any heat source. IMO everyone here has made good points. And how well your home is insulated is a major factor along with a properly installed and properly working heating appliance, that will save the most money. I agree some sources of heat are more effiecent than others, I would prefer hot water radiant heat with large cast iron radiators over forced air, IMO they maintain heat a little longer even after the furnace shuts down(this is good for drafty homes). Some may argue about how long the furnace has to run to heat all that water as compaired to how long a forced air furnace has to run to do the same job. The forced air may run more times (shorter times) in an hour than a boiler, but the boiler may run once for a long time which may calculate to the same run time all added up. There is more factors involved than that but that is just a starting point. I think the biggest thing is how well your home can maintain the heat. A small pellet stove or a large one on a low setting could provide alot of heat for a home if the home is properly insulated and the stove is properly installed in a good location. As far as sticking it to the oil companies and the government, I'm all for that. But they will get their, I mean our money one way or another. Atleast the government will. New taxes? More regulations? Price on permits to install these things? On the hybrid cars, I'm not sold on that idea yet. IMO the technology has changed but the end results haven't. Toyota Prius? How much does that thing cost? Remember the Ford Festiva? Yeah, I had one of those ( It was a 1990). It was a 4 cylinder like the Prius but it had a carburator and it got 45 to 50 miles to the gallon. Thats what the prius gets. Until they come out with a vehicle that you can just fill the tank with water from your garden hose and produces its own Hydrogen, I'm not sold on the Hybrid's. Like I said the technology has changed but the end results really haven't.
By the way, I started with a wood stove 3 years ago and loved it, I just replaced it with a pellet stove this year and I love that too. I really like the convienence of not having to cut split and stack wood. Not that I'm affraid of the work (I like the excersize), just don't have the time to do it anymore. And for the price of a full cord of wood here, a few dollars more for a ton of pellets makes life easier on my part. Have a Happy New Year all, and stay warm.

Jarrod