We use a pellet stove to heat our home, which is approximately 1400 square feet. When I mention this to my friends, most of them have a lot of questions about how it works, and whether we save any money. The pellet stove, in my opinion was a great investment, and will continue to save us money long-term. If you are curious about heating with a pellet stove, here are a few basic tips to conside
1. Pick a reliable brand of pellet stove over a less expensive one. We purchased a Harman Pellet Stove, the most basic model, and have not had any problems with function or reliability. My husband and I discussed this recently, and we did agree that if we had to do it over, we would probably purchase the model “one up” from the basic stove, but we would definitely purchase a Harman brand stove again.
2. If you have young children, plan to fence off your pellet stove. Because we have 3 children, we purchased a Hearth Gate on Craigslist, but they can also be purchased on Amazon. It’s just not worth it, in my opinion, to risk your child getting burned. Always invest in a sturdy and reliable gate.
This is the Hearth Gate we own —
3. Get at least mid-grade pellets. The really cheap ones burn fast and leave a lot of ash. We typically burn the mid-grade ones, which are still very affordable. The higher-grade pellets are more expensive but leave even less ash/clean-up.
4. If your power goes out a lot, consider a wood stove instead. We have never had our power go out, and our utilities here in the suburbs are underground. However, if you live in a rural area, you may want to consider purchasing a wood stove, because pellet stoves are dependent on electricity.
5. Have the pellet stove installed professionally, just to be safe and avoid any fire hazards.
6. Learn to clean the pellet stove and chimney yourself. This will save a lot of money each year/season.
Our pellet stove has already paid for itself in the four years since we have purchased it. We almost never use oil heat, even though we do have it as a back-up. If you are seriously considering switching to pellets, and want more detailed information about pellet stoves, I suggest reading the helpful advice on hearth.com (these folks know all about pellet stoves!).