Fall is here and the weather is turning colder. Out here in the desert southwest, Natural Gas prices are of the rise and I was thinking of installing a pellet stove. Does anybody have any experience or advice they would be willing to share with a longtime Lurker. I know as a Lurker I probably do not deserve the help that the teeming masses can provide but I thought I would ask anyway.
I spent 10 years in a local utility (Energy Conservation)
Basically, it’s entirely a question of Natural Gas Prices and Pellet Prices.
PS: Some pellet stoves can use FEED CORN to heat. Might want to check into it.
2 other things:
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Savings are ALWAYS overstated.
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Make sure you factor the rental cost of whatever equipment you might need. This includes increased insurance b/c you are burning stuff in your house.
One more thing to consider is the pellet stoves need electricity to work,to feed the pellets in at the right time.My power goes out all the time here,usually due to an ice storm.We got a gas stove,looks like a wood burning parlor stove,fake logs and all.It heats the entire house in the winter and works during a blackout.It’s vented out thru the wall.no chimney and has a double pir(it sucks air in the middle,heats it and the exhaust is vented out the outer pipe.No problems with it ,I’d do it again in a second.
I agree with JMRossi. Had a pellet stove when growing up and it worked beautifully, but when the power went out, it got really really awful.
Of course, this may not be an issue in the desert southwest.
Don’t natural gas and fuel oil furnaces involve “burning stuff” in your house?
They sure do.
For some reason, in Ontario Canada, your house insurance goes up a bit if you have a pellet stove. (Most underwriters consider them fireplaces)
Which just points out how obtuse insurance companies can be, when they consider furnaces requiring flammable liquids and explosive gases (under pressure!) piped through the home to be safer than furnaces that use wood waste pellets.
The electric motor is a very simple one, and, at least on the stove I have experience with, can be rigged to run off a battery if need be.
I can’t comment on relative pricing, but as for heating convenience, I really enjoyed the little pellet stove my dad used to have. Fun to watch, really heated up the room quickly.