Pellet Stoves and Inserts Information
Pellet stoves work on the principle of convection, not radiation, the surface stays relatively cool, which means you can install them as little as three inches away from the wall. The only requirement is a nearby electrical outlet to power the feed system and fans (and a battery back up in case the electricity goes out).
What convinced her was discovering that a pellet stove could heat her entire 3,000-square-foot ranch house for less than $120 a month. (She paid up to $200 with gas.) Skeptical at first, she set the thermostat for the furnace at 55 degrees, just in case the stove needed some extra help The machinery never kicked on; it didn’t have to.
Flick-now the owner, with husband Ron, of Heavenly Hearth in Amelia, Ohio-may be an extreme example, but a lot of homeowners share her enthusiasm. Perhaps it’s because of the energy savings these stoves provide, or the fact that they offer an eco-friendly heating option. Fueled by pellets made from recycled, super-compressed sawdust, they not only conserve trees, they also burn hotter and cleaner than conventional woodstoves or fireplaces, producing minimal smoke and ash.
According to retailers, sales of pellet stoves are, dare we say it, on fire. The Washington, D.C. based Pellet Fuels Institute says around 67,000 of them were sold to U.S. homeowners in 2004; 118,000 in 2005; and about 200,000 are projected to sell this winter. “This is definitely going to be the year for them.
There are two types of auger feed systems, bottom-fed and top-fed loading systems. Some models are capable of burning corn in addition to pellets. Others can use lower grades of pellets, a good feature for the future when pellets may be made of materials other than premium sawdust.
Unlike other wood-burning appliances, pellet stoves and inserts rely on mechanical air-supply systems (usually a forced-draft or induced-draft system) to vent air from the home. the forced-draft system uses a fan to force air up the vent into the combustion chamber. The induced-draft system, sometimes called the negative pressure system, uses a fan to draw air from the combustion area through the exhaust system.
The reason for last year’s shortage was both higher-than-expected demand and the fact that a number of U.S. pellet manufacturers had existing contracts with sellers in Europe, where the stoves have been popular for decades. To meet the growing need, some local retailers are resorting to new sources. Case in point: The owners of Thomaston Hardware in Thomaston, Georgia, have struck up a deal with a local wood flooring company to start manufacturing their own pellets.
Another fan blows the hot air out into your house. Some models require you light the fire yourself, others let you push a button on the stove (or a remote control!) to fire them up; fully automatic versions are attached to a thermostat and turn on or off depending on the selected heat level.