Wood Pellets Vs. Natural Gas and Many other Fuel Prices???

[Husky]

So the other day I was curious what it was costing me to burn my wood pellets compared to running my furnace. Wow I was surprised at the results. I knew their had to be a calculator out there that would do a comparison of fuel prices to BTU output. Found a great one that gives great information. This is what I discovered. At the current rate I am paying for a therm. of natural gas from my last bill, it cost me $0.96 per therm. This is calculated with delivery charges/supply charges and taxes. Wood pellets cost me about $240 a ton this year. When I entered all my information in calculator, it looks like it is costing me around $6.68 more per million BTU to heat my house with my new Accentra 52i. I have been real proud this year that I have not turned on the furnace and have been able to keep my house real warm. Thinking I am saving money, I am really spending more to do this. Time to rethink how I'm heating. I still love the heat I get off the pellet stove when we're home for the evening. You can't beat having our main living space at a toasty 75, so I will definitely still be using the pellet stove but I am not going to try and heat the whole house anymore. Pellet prices need to come down to $150 a ton or gas needs to cost me $1.57 a term to break even.

Here is the link to the calculator if you want to check your price comparison for any type of fuel you use. Check it out.
http://nepacrossroads.com/fuel-comparison-calculator.php

 

[xSpecBx]

Right now, with oil prices being pretty low and the fact that, since I didn't buy pellets till September (so I didn't get the best prices), I'm probably just about breaking even using pellets over oil. After this heating season I will be looking to buy my pellets in the spring so I can get better prices.

If I had natural gas I probably wouldn't have bothered putting in a pellet stove.

 

[moey]

Ding ding we have a winner. Nice to see someone actually run numbers for how they heat their house.

 

[Chitownhillbilly]

15 years ago I had a snooty salesman come to the door trying to get me to switch NG suppliers. For switching they were going to lock me in at .24 a therm (yes, 24 cents) for the next 10 years. At the time we were paying .14 a therm, so I passed. By the end of that winter it was already at .24 and its never been that low again. Nearly 1.00 now, and thats still considered the cheapest form for generating heat!

FYI I moved and no longer have an NG option, otherwise I probably wouldn't be hanging around here.

 

[Husky]

Right now, with oil prices being pretty low and the fact that, since I didn't buy pellets till September (so I didn't get the best prices), I'm probably just about breaking even using pellets over oil. After this heating season I will be looking to buy my pellets in the spring so I can get better prices.

If I had natural gas I probably wouldn't have bothered putting in a pellet stove.

I still love a wood or pellet stove in my family room so something was going in no matter what and pellets are much easier to deal with than the wood as I'm getting older. Still very happy with the new pellet stove.

 

[Big papa]

So the other day I was curious what it was costing me to burn my wood pellets compared to running my furnace. Wow I was surprised at the results. I knew their had to be a calculator out there that would do a comparison of fuel prices to BTU output. Found a great one that gives great information. This is what I discovered. At the current rate I am paying for a therm. of natural gas from my last bill, it cost me $0.96 per therm. This is calculated with delivery charges/supply charges and taxes. Wood pellets cost me about $240 a ton this year. When I entered all my information in calculator, it looks like it is costing me around $6.68 more per million BTU to heat my house with my new Accentra 52i. I have been real proud this year that I have not turned on the furnace and have been able to keep my house real warm. Thinking I am saving money, I am really spending more to do this. Time to rethink how I'm heating. I still love the heat I get off the pellet stove when we're home for the evening. You can't beat having our main living space at a toasty 75, so I will definitely still be using the pellet stove but I am not going to try and heat the whole house anymore. Pellet prices need to come down to $150 a ton or gas needs to cost me $1.57 a term to break even.

Here is the link to the calculator if you want to check your price comparison for any type of fuel you use. Check it out.
http://nepacrossroads.com/fuel-comparison-calculator.php

I paid for my pellets last June to last me through the hole winter so I'm not looking at pellet or oil prices right now but I'm sure if I was heating my house to 72-75 degrees with oil even with the price decrease in oil I don't think it would be cheaper.when I run out of pellets I'll check with your calculator at that time but for now my heating bill has been paid for

 

[tjnamtiw]

This calculator is even better since you can enter in information about your hot air ductwork, if you have it.
http://www.buildinggreen.com/calc/fuel_cost.cfm

 

[Tonyray]

I paid for my pellets last June to last me through the hole winter so I'm not looking at pellet or oil prices right now but I'm sure if I was heating my house to 72-75 degrees with oil even with the price decrease in oil I don't think it would be cheaper.when I run out of pellets I'll check with your calculator at that time but for now my heating bill has been paid for

same here...
if I Kept my house at 73-74 degrees[ which we do with the harman] using Oil my furnace would drink oil like a drunken sailor.
No way am I going to go back to keeping the house 67-68 just to save oil regardless of price.
Haven't been this warm in years these past 2 winters. 90 yr Old poorly insulated house.
I also bought 5 tons cheap in the spring from my dealers early buy..

 

[bogieb]

With propane prices at $3 (yeah right - more like 3.39 if I'm lucky) pellets are almost 1/2 the cost per MBTU at 259/ton (what I paid). They are still cheaper by $8 per MBTU when compared to oil prices at this time (I used $3.00 as price point but last I saw it was a little higher).

Heck, I was thinking that the 300/ton that Agway wants is a bit high, but by comparison, I would still save $12/ MBTU. With this info, might have to get some from Agway as they are supposed to have New England Wood Pellets (which people seem to like)

 

[Harman Lover 007]

We have this discussion in some form or another every year....I have had NG for all of the 19 years I have owned my stoves. It didn't used to be this cheap but it is now. I pay around $1.30/therm. I'll never go away from pellets...well at least until I cant lift the bags anymore.... I keep my house at 72-74 in order to keep the bride happy and comfy. I would never consider doing that with my NG heat.... As we all know, it's all about HER.

 

[Lake Girl]

Happy wife .... Happy life Options here are pellets, wood, propane and oil. Got rid of the outside wood boiler for a reason - lots of work. Our prices are still higher than the US for fossil fuels... Besides I like knowing that the pellets are by-products of other wood processing.

 

[Fsappo]

When I bought my home, it was serviced with natural gas and had a pellet stove. Pellet stove came out and a wood stove went in within a month.. NYSERDA finally caught on and for this current pellet stove pilot program are excluding people with natural gas service. For those folks, they are helping them get high efficiency gas furnaces.

 

[Bob E]

Yeah, the previous owner of my house installed my pellet stove, but I'm not really sure why since the house also has a natural gas furnace. This is my first season using the pellet stove. Now that the new fire making toy is wearing off of it I'm having a hard time seeing the appeal. Between the frequent cleaning, the fidgety mechanical nature, the rising pellet prices, and the inability to heat without electricity I suspect this may be my last season using a pellet stove, unless a I can find a much cheaper fuel source or figure out how to make my own pellets. I also wouldn't necessarily say pellet stoves requires less work than a wood stove. The physical labor of cutting and chopping is displaced with cleaning, repairing, and fidgeting. Wood stoves are so simple there is almost nothing to go wrong and every gas furnace I've had is pretty much set it and forget it. I would hate to have to rely on my pellet stove as my only form of heat, I wouldn't sleep. I would constantly be worried if it's working right. Does it need cleaned again? Are the pellets feeding okay? Where to find 2" flex pipe for it? Why does that motor sound so much loader all of a sudden?
I don't think I've seen an oil tank in or around a house since I was a kid. Everything in my area seems to be wood, natural gas, or LP...

 

[SidecarFlip]

Yeah, the previous owner of my house installed my pellet stove, but I'm not really sure why since the house also has a natural gas furnace. This is my first season using the pellet stove. Now that the new fire making toy is wearing off of it I'm having a hard time seeing the appeal. Between the frequent cleaning, the fidgety mechanical nature, the rising pellet prices, and the inability to heat without electricity I suspect this may be my last season using a pellet stove, unless a I can find a much cheaper fuel source or figure out how to make my own pellets. I also wouldn't necessarily say pellet stoves requires less work than a wood stove. The physical labor of cutting and chopping is displaced with cleaning, repairing, and fidgeting. Wood stoves are so simple there is almost nothing to go wrong and every gas furnace I've had is pretty much set it and forget it. I would hate to have to rely on my pellet stove as my only form of heat, I wouldn't sleep. I would constantly be worried if it's working right. Does it need cleaned again? Are the pellets feeding okay? Where to find 2" flex pipe for it? Why does that motor sound so much loader all of a sudden?
I don't think I've seen an oil tank in or around a house since I was a kid. Everything in my area seems to be wood, natural gas, or LP...

Pellets or corn (which your 6039) will readily combust, will never be cheaper than NG, not even come close. However if you were like me, heating with LNG/Propane, pellets and/or corn will always be a winner.

 

[xSpecBx]

Propane, pricewise, isn't much better than oil. My only options are propane or oil so pellets were the best alternative. Its always good to have a second option in case there is a shortage in your primary. Right now, with oil being relatively cheap, I'm less concerned about using the oil boiler, but in the long run the pellet stove should pay for itself. Oil will go back up. It always does.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I'm sure it will eventually. Processed wood pellets have stayed pretty stagnant in pricing over the last 5 years. Corn, on the other hand got stupid expensive but is now getting stupid cheap. If I hadn't pre-bought 5 ton I'd be burning shelled old crop corn right now.

 

[Chitownhillbilly]

The physical labor of cutting and chopping is displaced with cleaning, repairing, and fidgeting.

I spend ~30 min a week Cleaning and fidgeting with my Pellet stove. My friend heats with wood and spends every spare waking hour Cutting, Splitting, Stacking and hauling in the Spring and Summer. I personally don't think it's anywhere close to the same amount of time.

 

[moey]

Pellets or corn (which your 6039) will readily combust, will never be cheaper than NG, not even come close. However if you were like me, heating with LNG/Propane, pellets and/or corn will always be a winner.

The cost of NG varies by region. Around me NG is about $1.80 therm also about $25 in fees each month. Depending on what your paying for pellets they are on par maybe cheaper. Even oil is on par right now as you dont pay a monthly fee.

 

[F4jock]

Happy wife .... Happy life Options here are pellets, wood, propane and oil. Got rid of the outside wood boiler for a reason - lots of work. Our prices are still higher than the US for fossil fuels... Besides I like knowing that the pellets are by-products of other wood processing.

Amen Lake! And no matter the fuel cost comparison my lovely, blonde bride that I long ago robbed a cradle to get, enjoys the ambiance of the fire which leads to an evening glass of vino which leads to . . . . As you said, happy wife happy life! And as a bonus, the stove heats the place as well! *Grin*

 

[Bob E]

spend ~30 min a week Cleaning and fidgeting with my Pellet stove. My friend heats with wood and spends every spare waking hour Cutting, Splitting, Stacking and hauling in the Spring and Summer. I personally don't think it's anywhere close to the same amount of time.

You still have to haul and stack pellets just the same. If you want to buy wood you can do away with the cutting, hauling and most of the splitting and seasoning. When you factor in the cost of gas (truck, saw, and splitter if you're real fancy), time, and chainsaw maintenance buying wood usually isn't much more than cutting it yourself. I'd rather go outside while the wood stove keeps cooking and split a cord than sit here waiting for this pellet stove to shut down and cool off before I can vacuum it out and chisel the crud off the fire pot again... The only advantage for the pellet stove over a wood stove that I see is the ability to control heat output with the press of a button.

 

[F4jock]

You still have to haul and stack pellets just the same. If you want to buy wood you can do away with the cutting, hauling and most of the splitting and seasoning. When you factor in the cost of gas (truck, saw, and splitter if you're real fancy), time, and chainsaw maintenance buying wood usually isn't much more than cutting it yourself. I'd rather go outside while the wood stove keeps cooking and split a cord than sit here waiting for this pellet stove to shut down and cool off before I can vacuum it out and chisel the crud off the fire pot again... The only advantage for the pellet stove over a wood stove that I see is the ability to control heat output with the press of a button.

No Cresote? Auto-ignition? Less ash?

 

[Husky]

No Cresote? Auto-ignition? Less ash?

Amen. Done the wood for 20+ years. I'll stack 40lb bags any day over handling the wood four times before I burn it. And now my wife doesn't mind helping.

 

[Bob E]

But that is the thing, pellets are less work because you are buying your fuel from someone else rather than procuring it yourself. You can buy wood too. Just as much less work.
Auto ignition? My stove doesn't have it. Lighting a fire is pretty easy.
Less ash? Yup, packed away in tiny little channels inside the stove that have to be vacuumed but only after the stove has long since stopped making heat. With a wood stove just push the coals aside and scoop the ash out into a pan, throw more wood on, house never cools down.
No creosote? That is a good one, but chimneys and vent pipes have to get cleaned in the off season either way.

 

[CaptSpiff]

Amen. Done the wood for 20+ years. I'll stack 40lb bags any day over handling the wood four times before I burn it. And now my wife doesn't mind helping.

My buddy always puts on a big show. When watching the ballgame and the TV commercial starts he'll get up and declare "Well, it's time to chop some wood for the fire". Then a minute later he comes back with a bucket of pellets and declares "Man, that's some good exercise".

 

[Husky]

But that is the thing, pellets are less work because you are buying your fuel from someone else rather than procuring it yourself. You can buy wood too. Just as much less work.
Auto ignition? My stove doesn't have it. Lighting a fire is pretty easy.
Less ash? Yup, packed away in tiny little channels inside the stove that have to be vacuumed but only after the stove has long since stopped making heat. With a wood stove just push the coals aside and scoop the ash out into a pan, throw more wood on, house never cools down.
No creosote? That is a good one, but chimneys and vent pipes have to get cleaned in the off season either way.

For me I have been buying my wood for the past 8 years. My first 15 years of wood burning I had access to free wood. If I was still able to get free wood and just had my labor I would still have a wood stove. I needed to replace my wood stove due to metal fatigue so I had to make a decision. Changing to a pellet stove was a basically a wash for me. The stove and install were about equal and the amount I will spend on pellets is close to what I was purchasing for wood. If you have ever stacked pellet bags compared to stacking wood you would have to agree that pellets are much easier to handle and I don't need to season my pellets before I use them. I would agree with you that maintenance is quite a bit more with a pellet stove, but it is real easy after you do it a few times. I do like burning wood but pellets are easier and get the job done for me.