You plan to buy a pellet stove !

I will try to enlighten your choice.

Wood burning is the main source of fine particulate emissions into the atmosphere. He is a major contributor to respiratory diseases and winter smog. There are other auxiliary heating solutions that are less polluting. One of them is the pellet stove … they are stoves fed by pellets made from the sawmills’ waste. These wood residues are compacted. This is waste from the wood industry that is recycled.

How do pellet stoves work?

We pour small wood pellets 2 cm long and 6/9 mm in diameter from the compression of sawdust or wood chips in a fuel tank. The granules are fed one by one by a worm which feeds the brazier, which means that the supply of fuel is automatic. This screw is driven by an electric motor so you understand that it takes an electrical outlet, the speed will depend on the temperature desired by the thermostat. Subsequently, the granules fall into a combustion crucible (also called an oven or fire) where they will burn through a ventilated air inlet that comes from the room or ideally from outside. Finally, the ash falls down in a large ashtray while the fumes, attracted by a fan, drain into the ducts. The heat created will be redistributed in the room by a fan that will blow the heat recovered by a heat exchanger (it is called forced air or forced convection). This system achieves energy efficiencies of 80 to 95%!

Compare a pellet stove with a wood stove:

The pellet stove allows:

– to light the stove automatically.
– better energy yields (80% or more instead of 70% on average for wood stoves) and energy savings.
– to manage the temperature by thermostat or remotely.
– no wood replenishment chores that is a task to do several times a day, the granules are added only every 3 or 5 days.
– emits less Co (carbon monoxide) and at least 10 times less fine particles.
– it takes 4 times more space to string the wood to have a similar energy than with the granules.
– you save space, because pellet stove chimneys require thinner 80 mm ducts that can even be connected outside the house, avoiding ducts through the roof or other rooms.
– to be sure of the quality of the pellets, which is not always the case with firewood which can be wet.

As you can see, the notions of comfort and performance are omnipresent.

What are the benefits of pellet stoves

-very effective because the granules are very dry.

-the heat is comfortable and can be better controlled with a wood stove.

No need to string wood or feed it several times a day.

-the pellet stove is a greener stove: low CO2 emissions. While burning, the pellets release the same amount of CO2 as the wood would release if it decomposed naturally. Each cubic meter of pelleted wood avoids the emission of 850 kg of CO2 per year on average when it replaces fuel oil and 580 kg of CO2 when it replaces natural gas. Granules release less fine particles into the air, compared with EPA certified wood stoves, pellet stoves produce up to three times less fine particles in the air (0.7 to 2g / h compared to 1.3 to 6 g / h).

Why would pellet stoves be less polluting than wood stoves?

Since it is all about wood that burns, the big problem is that a homeowner can put anything in it and unfortunately we do not have control. It can put very wet wood, leaves, even waste … With pellets, the quality of the fuel is equal from one bag to another. You can not put anything other than pellets otherwise the stove may break. Natural Resources Canada has done a study on CO2 emissions, a pellet stove emits 50 to 90 PPM (parts per million) compared to a regular wood stove that emits 300 to 14,000 PPM.

I am aware that a wood stove is cheaper in cost per kWh, the wood can be stored outside, not the pellets, its flames envelop us, it is silent and does not need electricity for us keep warm, without electricity a pellet stove will not work unless it is plugged into a battery. For pollution, it’s a nice solution !!!

And now, let’s compare the pellet stove with other conventional heating systems – oil, gas, electricity.

The pellet stove allows:

– good energy yields