The Advantages of Pellet Stoves

This article also originally appears on www.residencestyle.com

Wooden stoves are famous for creating a uniformly warm and cozy atmosphere. In this regard, they can even be superior to many modern, central-heating systems. And yet, they are also not the hassle-free experience that fancy advertisements make them out to be.

For one, there is the sheer cumbersomeness associated with gathering and managing the wood required for heating these stoves. Secondly, they need a well-ventilated chimney in order to function at optimum capacity, which can be quite the challenge in growing or densely populated, metropolitan cities. Finally, their upkeep and maintenance is not to be treated lightly.

These opportunities have led to the growing popularity of yet another heating medium – with pellet stoves, which provide a happy balance between the convenience of electricity and the undeniable satisfaction of using a conventional stove to heat a room. Here are 5 distinct advantages of embracing this growing trend.

1. Pellet stoves are highly energy efficient

A wooden stove takes time to warm up, and then heats the surrounding atmosphere. More wood is consumed and the stove needs to be topped every few hours. On the other hand, the average pellet stove provides an energy efficiency up to 91%, with pellets lasting through an entire day of usage. This automatically leads to less wastage. The stoves also need to be turned on only when needed, or when the room is occupied. With this, they are more energy efficient than central heating systems that typically consume electricity to heat a room even when it is unoccupied.

2. They are relatively fuss-free

There is no denying the large amount of soot produced by wooden stoves as the wood burns to produce heat. In contrast, pellet stoves run on electricity. So, while they create a similar ambience, pellet stoves are more hassle free and require less cleaning and maintenance.

3. Stoves using pellets are more cost effective

You may be surprised to know that the cost of pellets has remained more or less consistent for over a decade. In contrast, conventional electricity pricing has wavered significantly, based on environmental factors (like availability of renewable sources), government sponsored tax rebates, etc. Over the long term, pellets work out to be more cost effective than both wooden logs and conventional electricity.

4. Pellet stoves offer a more uniform heating experience

With modern central-heating systems, there are always areas in a house that end up receiving more or less heat. In contrast, a pellet stove heats the room where it is installed. Also, the stove can be programmed to burn the pellets at a uniform rate all through its usage, rendering an even heating experience.

5. Pellet stoves are more environment friendly

Pellet stoves consume less electricity to heat a room than central heating systems. In comparison to wooden stoves – which emit various toxic particulates into the air as the wood burns, the emissions of pellet stoves are mostly non-toxic and carbon-free. Together, they form a winning combination for those seeking to transition into an environment friendly lifestyle.