With pellet fuel so expensive, how can I justify installing a new stove? My electric bill is roughly 325 a month in the winter-pretty much the same pellet fuel price per ton. Please someone talk me into it. I’ve had stoves in the past and love them, but not sure I can justify the 7k up front.
325.00/month Electric Bill vs Pellets
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im assuming you heat with electric.. When i switched over to pellet i saved enough on my gas/hydro bill that i could buy a new stove every 2 years.. The head from a pellet stove is so nice compared to anything else other than wood. In the coldest months my pellet cost is at max $120 per month max
Yeah you just have to do the math to figure payback. It can be hard because prices of everything change so often.
Also factor the cost of your time when factoring the cleaning of a pellet stove over a set-and-forget electric heat or heat pump.
At 325/month electric, I'd think you would recoup the cost of a $2000 stove rather quickly.
Also factor the cost of your time when factoring the cleaning of a pellet stove over a set-and-forget electric heat or heat pump.
At 325/month electric, I'd think you would recoup the cost of a $2000 stove rather quickly.
johneh
Minister of Fire
I burn 4 tons over 6/7 months a year at 305 a ton This Year
My stove with me installing it was just over 3 grand. Our
electricity is one of the most expensive in Canada. I believe
I paid for this stove 5 times over with savings in the last 20 years
Probably one of the best investments I made in heating this old log house
Would I do it again Definitely, a hearty YES
My stove with me installing it was just over 3 grand. Our
electricity is one of the most expensive in Canada. I believe
I paid for this stove 5 times over with savings in the last 20 years
Probably one of the best investments I made in heating this old log house
Would I do it again Definitely, a hearty YES
Washed-Up
Minister of Fire
4t a year for me, and I also metered my stove Jan 1-May31 a couple years ago, approx 50$ for electricity in a Harman P61A
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
What is your cost of electricity per million btu? What is the cost of pellets per million btu?
Compare the two. Now that you have an even baseline you can compare your winter increase in kWh from your electric bill to what the cost of pellets for a similar amount of energy is.
Compare the two. Now that you have an even baseline you can compare your winter increase in kWh from your electric bill to what the cost of pellets for a similar amount of energy is.
bogieb
Minister of Fire
Use a calculator to figure out if you will save anything. If you are only using $325/month in electric during winter for heat, pretty sure you won't save much, if any. I mean even if pellets as well as the electricity to run the stove were free, (hold on, counting on fingers and toes 325x6), the best you could do over 6 months is save $1,950k per year. So that would take just under 4 years for ROI. And I'm being generous with the winter length there. Now tack on cost of pellets and electricity to run the stove, and the ROI is longer.
If you want a pellet stove, get one. There is no need to "justify" it unless you can't afford it. to begin with. And you know what, it is never a bad thing to have two separate heating options in case one of them fails in the middle of winter
If you want a pellet stove, get one. There is no need to "justify" it unless you can't afford it. to begin with. And you know what, it is never a bad thing to have two separate heating options in case one of them fails in the middle of winter
boy things have changed since i moved away.. Guess the should not have dismantled one of the big hydro electric producers
power grid fails, wood stove still works. Buying already splt wood about the same cost as pellets per btu for the most part. doing the work to convert logs to splits, stacking , drying- well that is a life style you have to be willing to commit to. about equal, i guess, to buying a pallet of pellets and than putting them somewhere where they will not face Mother Natures fury
Ssyko
Minister of Fire
way back when i did wood i burned 14 cord a yr 1800sf open floor plan.
As Bogieb said if you can swing it! buy it!
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
With all the energy savings home improvement money available (insulation, air sealing, heatpumps ect.). One needs to be more thorough and figure out how much those improvements will save over the next 20 years or how ever long you plan on living there.
used to burn 11 face cords heating 24/7.house felt nice i didn't lol.like the lock and load aspect of pellets, but thats alot of bags to store
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14 cord a year is absolutely wild to me, even with an old smoke dragon stove. Im at 3 cord a year on a modern noncat stove.
Ssyko
Minister of Fire
my location is on top of the Tug Hill in NY 6-11 foot of snow is not unheard of. down in the -40's at times. 30 yr old double wide with chit insulation. and im well beyond doing any more upgrades to the house.. to old and it wont benefit me.
old shenandoah
very similar to this one.
old shenandoah
very similar to this one.
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Highbeam
Minister of Fire
The 325 electric won't go to zero if you start burning pellets. Only a portion of that 325 is for heating. Then you have to know how many tons you will use to replace that portion of the heating bill.
Finally, you don't need to spend 7000$ on a stove. Lots of folks on here have gotten it done with much less cost.
Finally, you don't need to spend 7000$ on a stove. Lots of folks on here have gotten it done with much less cost.
scajjr2
Feeling the Heat
OP if you have electric heat, what do you keep your temp set at, 66, 68, 70, 72? We got our pellet stove because what it would cost us in electricity from Nov-April to keep the house at 67, we would spend the same on pellets & running the pellet stove 24/7 BUT keep the house at 72.
sam
sam
Ocelot
Burning Hunk
Cost to heat varies between areas, type of heat, desired temperature, etc. For us, we like the toasty warm living area that would cost a fortune if we kept that temperature with our oil furnace. We also need to keep the house warm all day, every day, because we have a licensed family daycare, so no turning down the heat during workdays.
$7000 seems like an awful lot to me for a pellet stove though. I started years ago with an Englander stove from Lowes that I installed myself and used for 11 years. Then a couple years ago, I upgraded to a lightly used Harman that I picked up for $2000 and installed that one in place of the Englander. Last year I burnt about 4 1/2 tons of pellets, but only use barely a quarte tank of heating oil. If I kept the house as comfortable with the furnace, I would have used multiple tanks of oil at about double the cost.
For electricity, I tested my stoves wattage use because I put in a battery backup for short outages or to give me time to use the generator and it uses very little while it's up and running. it was below 100 watts for the fans on lower settings and jumps up some for the auger cycles. My UPS gives me about an hour if power goes out.
We run the stove 24/7 and my winter electric bills averaged around $120
Ray
$7000 seems like an awful lot to me for a pellet stove though. I started years ago with an Englander stove from Lowes that I installed myself and used for 11 years. Then a couple years ago, I upgraded to a lightly used Harman that I picked up for $2000 and installed that one in place of the Englander. Last year I burnt about 4 1/2 tons of pellets, but only use barely a quarte tank of heating oil. If I kept the house as comfortable with the furnace, I would have used multiple tanks of oil at about double the cost.
For electricity, I tested my stoves wattage use because I put in a battery backup for short outages or to give me time to use the generator and it uses very little while it's up and running. it was below 100 watts for the fans on lower settings and jumps up some for the auger cycles. My UPS gives me about an hour if power goes out.
We run the stove 24/7 and my winter electric bills averaged around $120
Ray
I would guess it depends on what you want or need for a stove. 7K is probably right close for a top end like Harman, install and a few ton to get you going.
I had a heat pump put in for my AC and they put a coil in for heat then I had this place built, also have the tubing in the floor for radiant but a friend said I probably have t much of the floor covered with furniture and and some other things for it to work efficiently. So it was never hooked up to a heat source.
So what I have learned from heating with the unit for a few years, then a free standing ventless propane stove for a year, I decided on pellets. The gas was nice, I liked it but it wasn't cheap back then (2011) Bought the stove and really like it, the big thing for me is, the pellet stove gives off a warm heat, the heat pump does not do that in my opinion. Plus the coil is used a lot during our winters, so I can set the temp higher on the pellet stove to heat and still be close to even I would imagine.
I run mine of a thermostat, so the stove runs in manual mode all the time during most of the winter. I shut it down once a month for a good cleaning and to empty the ash pan. I go through 3-4 ton a year. This year they are 300 a ton plus I think 35 per ton delivery.
You mentioned you had used stoves in the past, so you know the ins and outs and the difference between them and electric heat.
I had a heat pump put in for my AC and they put a coil in for heat then I had this place built, also have the tubing in the floor for radiant but a friend said I probably have t much of the floor covered with furniture and and some other things for it to work efficiently. So it was never hooked up to a heat source.
So what I have learned from heating with the unit for a few years, then a free standing ventless propane stove for a year, I decided on pellets. The gas was nice, I liked it but it wasn't cheap back then (2011) Bought the stove and really like it, the big thing for me is, the pellet stove gives off a warm heat, the heat pump does not do that in my opinion. Plus the coil is used a lot during our winters, so I can set the temp higher on the pellet stove to heat and still be close to even I would imagine.
I run mine of a thermostat, so the stove runs in manual mode all the time during most of the winter. I shut it down once a month for a good cleaning and to empty the ash pan. I go through 3-4 ton a year. This year they are 300 a ton plus I think 35 per ton delivery.
You mentioned you had used stoves in the past, so you know the ins and outs and the difference between them and electric heat.
$7k sounds high to me, depending on what stove you want. You could spend a lot less and still get a stove that would heat for you.
Electric baseboard heat it really expensive around here and is subject to electric rates going up. I heat my house all winter with 3-4 tons of pellets. If I keep an eye out and buy in bulk when they are on sale I can usually get pellets for about $250 a ton.
I am located in Northern Indiana, so we get some pretty cold temps some years.
My future pan is a heat pump for the shoulder heating seasons. They are very efficient and I have solar installed to cover the electric cost of them.
Electric baseboard heat it really expensive around here and is subject to electric rates going up. I heat my house all winter with 3-4 tons of pellets. If I keep an eye out and buy in bulk when they are on sale I can usually get pellets for about $250 a ton.
I am located in Northern Indiana, so we get some pretty cold temps some years.
My future pan is a heat pump for the shoulder heating seasons. They are very efficient and I have solar installed to cover the electric cost of them.
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