2500 square foot home - 3 levels

[leofff]

We bought the house last year and I found the cost of heating by oil to be prohibitively expensive - almost $4000 for the winter. So I'm going to be installing a wood/pellet stove this fall.

1. Do pellet stoves generally emit as much heat as wood stoves? I grew up with wood stoves and I know how hot they can get, but can a pellet stove produce the same level of heat?

2. I'm going to put the stove in the basement and cut a vent in the ceiling above. If I install the proper fans, etc, should a standard pellet stove be able to sufficiently heat the basement and main floor? I know that the manufacturers claim that stoves will heat 2000 square feet, but Honda also claims my Civic gets 600 miles to the tank, and I'm still waiting for that to happen.

 

[fossil]

Ideally, the stove should be located in the space where you spend the most time. Moving the heat from any of these space heaters to other parts of our homes is a challenge we all face, one way or another. Pellet stoves require electricity to operate, so keep that in mind if you're in an area prone to lapses in service. Welcome! Rick

 

[webbie]

In general, wood burners from colder climes say that Pellet stoves DO NOT put out as much heat as wood stoves...or at least that is the perception. I agree for this reason - most pellet stoves are actually run at 20,000 BTU/Hr or so (often lower), whereas wood stoves are often run very hot some of the time....BUT, the 24 hour per day output ends up being similar.

Heating an unfinished basement and a first floor is quite a BIG job, and many normal pellet stoves will end up getting lost. In fact, your actual cost for a delivered BTU to the house may end up not being much cheaper than oil.....because of the lack of efficiency.

My suggestion is to either install the pellet unit in your living area, or look into a pellet furnace or boiler to tie into your central system. You should also research the cost and availability (short and longer term) of pellets in your area....so you can have some idea of your potential savings.