There are days I still pinch myself burning pellets when I realize the whole cost of heating my house annually really amounts to about 2+ tons of pellets or less than $500 total in fuel costs a year. While it's true if I didn't burn my wood stove in conjunction, it'd be closer to 3+ tons and that price would be closer to $700 a year. My next door neighbor spent $500 per month on electric bills just for the months of December and January alone -- and he has a smaller house! Just taking an educated guess he probably spent $350 for November and February and another $250 October and March. That's over $2000 of heating costs for the winter season not counting the shoulder season. So by running my Harman, I'm saving roughly $1500+ a year. I know I have it good out here in the PNW because of my fuel costs and the more mild temps. But even so, after next year's burn season, that Harman I bought will have paid for itself and I will have given myself a permanent solution to reduced heating costs for years to come. As a side note, burning pellets may not be saving my back but it has restored some old school sense of purpose. There's a connection there you just don't get when you turn the thermostat dial to the furnace. How much is burning pellets saving you?
I've never bothered to figure it out over what I save vs. Electric heat.......... I just tell myself its a lot!!
Enjoy it while you can though. I just heard a rumor that the new Maine government is attempting to pass a carbon tax.
They've been trying to do that in Washington for last couple of years. My understanding is they consider pellets and other wood items carbon neutral. Still those guys never met a tax they didn't like.
They're unlikely to tax the pellets directly. But energy is required to dry wood to make pellets. Perfect combustion produces water and carbon dioxide. Taxing carbon dioxide won't change that.
Same here plus pellets are more fun and a nicer heat , than just turning up the stat and watching the electric meter spin
Recently in NEW ENGLAND there has been issues with people dealing with no heat due to issues with natural gas lines luckily it hasn't my family but I have oil heat and my pellet stove so for me it's just peace of mind knowing I have options and I enjoy my pellet stove and the hunt for the best pellet
True that Jay , only electric heat is used in the upstairs bedroom that's over the cold garage and the pellet heat is not going to get there , and my Honey does much of her nursing charts and patient contacts up there . It's her pseudo office and we all know that if the Honey isn't warm
I go thru 5-6 tons per year. When I moved into my house in 2013, the first two months cost me over 2k to heat with propane - keeping the temp at 66*. And that was only heating the main floor since the basement isn't hooked into the FHW system. AND, I have a small house at 950 sq/ft main floor and 650 sq/ft basement (rest is an under house garage). THAT is the reason I put in my first stove. Granted, propane had spiked to over $5.50/gallon, but it was ridiculous. I have made insulation and window improvements since then, so it is tough to tell how much I save at today's $3.50/gal propane (cheapest price I've paid since I moved in), but I heat both the main floor and basement with pellets for less than 2k all season keeping the basement 72-75* and the main floor 68-71*. Propane is only used for DHW and as a backup heat source. The P61a paid for itself the first year and I only paid $1000 for the P43 so it paid for itself quickly.
Really dependent on outside temps. vs. oil usage, but historically - based on usage: 1,500 gals. #2 oil / season = 250 gals. / mo, current usage @ 69F house temp. day, 65F (night) = 60 gals. / mo, == 190 gals. / mo offset, 2.86 /gal. cost .. = $543.40, 32 bags avg. pellets / mo. @ 5.99 cost = $ 191.68, == Avg. fuel savings / mo using wood pellets = $ 351.72 Avg. (6 mo.) season savings using wood pellets = $2,110.32 == Avg. (6 mo.) season increase of electric usage using pellet stove, overhead fans, etc. = $390.00 (65/mo) == * Avg. (6 mo.) season net savings using wood pellets: $ 1,720.32 This is estimated for this ('18-'19) season, to-date.
I don't heat much during day a little oil we like it at 60-62 overnight, so I thin I am a wash and maybe this year a bit more expensive to heat with pellet, but I bought oil at around 2.31 and have twin 275 tanks. Wife does like the stove during evenings, and my Hastings cannot heat my house anyways. More for the lower portion.
I don't know much about pellets, but this thread is interesting. I only know one person who heats with pellets. She is a friend of our daughter's and heats her home/yurt up in Bemidji MN where it dropped to -36f yesterday morning, and she is very comfortable.
Look at it this way...... Pellets have one great advantage. How many forums are out there that happy people join, called "I love heating with oil/propane/electricity"? Seriously. The small amount of time I spend actually selling pellets, is always with people that come in smiling, and want to talk. "I like these, better than those".. "I tried the ones from XXX and didn't like them". "Thanks for the help loading them up". A lot of people do that with their oil guy? Or writing out their check to the power company? Really? Nobody has ever come in angry about something and all grumpy.. If they do... they leave differently. We shake hands when saying good bye, and take care.. Dan
I would think as a bidness owner, you'd have a great appreciation for these women -- a large reason many of us burn higher temps and thus buy and burn more product.
