Wood pellet stoves

Wood pellet stoves

A wood pellet stove burns pellets made from sawdust and ground wood chips – waste products of our forest industry which are otherwise often put into landfills where they decompose and release methane and carbon dioxide – both greenhouse gases.

The pellets are stored in a hopper bin within the unit and are continuously fed into the fire chamber with an auger. The products of combustion are vented to the outside through an exterior wall – a chimney installation is not required. Combustion is very efficient so wood pellet stoves release few particulate emissions.

There is a controller on the pellet stove which controls the speed at which the auger moves the pellets into the fire chamber, and hence the temperature of your house.

Some units can be equipped with a wet back that will heat your water as well.

Note that the auger that transports the pellets into the fire chamber, and the fans in the heater that circulate the heated air through your house, both require electricity. Therefore heating your home during a power outage could be a problem.

Price of stoves varies from about $2500 for a 2 kW unit ot $4500 for a 11 kW unit.

Typically one 20 kg bag will heat 150 sq m of space for approximately 24 hours. Ultimately this is dependent on the insulation standard of the home and the stove settings. Wood pellets are priced at about 38 cents per kg.

When choosing a wood pellet stove it is important to consider the size of your home in square metres.