Who heats their home with pellets or corn?

[champion221elite]

I've been heating my home with a Quadra-Fire wood pellet stove since October 2007.

As I'm entering my third heating season, I've noticed the price of pellets has steadily risen each year from about $130 per ton to around $220 per ton.

Does anybody else on the forum heat with biomass?

If you get a chance, please list your stove/burner.

Preferred fuel and approximate cost per ton or bag. Also, if there's any brands of fuel that are worth avoiding, please post that as well.


My home is approximately 3,000 sq ft, although I only heat the main level with the pellet stove. I'd estimate that I'm heating roughly 1,200 sq ft and it does a great job to help reduce my dependance on Propane for heat.


I have a 2007 model Quadra-Fire Castile stove and I'm currently burning Vulcan Wood Pellets which are made in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I paid $210 per ton and they seem to burn quite well. Very little ash output, zero clinkers, very little dust and good heat output.


Preferred pellets: Somerset (made in Kentucky, they're awesome).

Michigan Wood Products (made in Grayling, Mi. Decent pellet, but a bit dusty)

Marth (brown bag, made in Wisconsin) Good pellet, hard to find in my area.


Pellets to avoid: Fireside Ultra- Made in Canada with some wood and lots of dirt. Very dirty, clogged my stove and made huge chunks of clinker.
I will never buy these again!

Maeder Brothers: Decent heat output, dirty flame, dusty pellets, lots of clinker.

 

[FZ1inNH]

I was going to but after speaking with a few heating specialists, they've all stated I am better off using the installed heating system which is cheaper. Our house runs on natural gas. The house is very efficient and was built in 2000. Our worst NH winter thus far has been $615 for hot water, heat, cook and dry clothes. The best was $422 for the winter.

Summer is moot... we grill a lot, same amount of clothes and hot water and the furnace is shut off.

 

[champion221elite]

Wow... that must be nice to have such an efficient house! Back in the Winter of 2006, I was spending $600 per month worth of Propane to heat my home. I have hot water baseboard heat and a boiler mate which is supplied by the gas boiler. The upstairs heat is shut off, and I don't heat the finished basement. We cook with Propane, and also dry clothes.


I still burn Propane to heat hot water, cook and dry clothes but my consumption has decreased dramatically. I figured the pellet stove should pay for itself in about 2 heating seasons.

 

[Hellgate]

Granted we don't have winter here are at but I have everything on natural gas. It is so cheap here. Even in a cold winter, like gets down to...errr...45 to 50...I'll spend maybe $70 a month, at the very most, usually $50. That includes a NG water heater and clothes dryer.

I've heard propane and heating oil can be expensive.

Now A/C bills, I'm sure I've got you guys beat.

On a side note, Texas homes are so poorly insulated/constructed compared to homes in colder climates. Many were being built in the '90s with single pane windows and only 6 inches of insulation in the attic. The reason being? Energy costs are low, crank up the heat and A/C. Very short sighted.

In my last house I replace all of the windows and sliding doors with nice Pellas, bumped the insultation up to R30 plus in the attic. The difference was night and day; tomb quiet, comfortable, very low bills.

 

[FZ1inNH]

Pete, that is a great bit of news to keep in mind should anyone look to move to TX. Thanks!

Our house... I ordered it with the best insulation and all the windows are gas-filled double pane, double hung windows. There is 36" of pink stuff in the attic! While not the best, they work well holding the heat inside. We shut off the furnace early in the year and only just recently turned it on in the last few days for the first time this season. I also have to thank the relaible programmable thermostats! The heat comes on twice a day. Once in the morning to heat the place for breakfast and showering. Then at the end of the day for when we get home. 68 is the high setting, 58 during the day when no one is home and 52 at night. The heat from the "dinner-time run" typically lasts through the night without the house ever reaching 52 and having the heat come back on before the breakfast run. It has to be close to ZERO outside for the house to drop to 52 at night.

Weekends, if we are home and want it warmer, we override the system during the day which resets on the dinner run. Or, I just tell them all, bundle up! Layers are key!

I still haven't turned on the heat upstairs (MBR) this year. My wife and I like it cold in the BR with lots of blankets. :hug:

 

[reiobard]

Pete, that is a great bit of news to keep in mind should anyone look to move to TX. Thanks!

Our house... I ordered it with the best insulation and all the windows are gas-filled double pane, double hung windows. There is 36" of pink stuff in the attic! While not the best, they work well holding the heat inside. We shut off the furnace early in the year and only just recently turned it on in the last few days for the first time this season. I also have to thank the relaible programmable thermostats! The heat comes on twice a day. Once in the morning to heat the place for breakfast and showering. Then at the end of the day for when we get home. 68 is the high setting, 58 during the day when no one is home and 52 at night. The heat from the "dinner-time run" typically lasts through the night without the house ever reaching 52 and having the heat come back on before the breakfast run. It has to be close to ZERO outside for the house to drop to 52 at night.

Weekends, if we are home and want it warmer, we override the system during the day which resets on the dinner run. Or, I just tell them all, bundle up! Layers are key!

I still haven't turned on the heat upstairs (MBR) this year. My wife and I like it cold in the BR with lots of blankets. :hug:

Good luck doing that when the little one shows up, if it is not 70 in C's room all night she wakes up.... I have a little ceramic heater in there so i can heat just her room at night, I need to get a programable thermostat. Mine is good but not good enough

 

[champion221elite]

My wife would kill me if the house got down to 52 degrees at night! She complains if it gets any cooler than 65

 

[FZ1inNH]

Good luck doing that when the little one shows up, if it is not 70 in C's room all night she wakes up.... I have a little ceramic heater in there so i can heat just her room at night, I need to get a programmable thermostat. Mine is good but not good enough

Good point and I have that covered. I have an electric heater that will take care of that room and keep her and the baby toasty while the rest of the house is "ahem!!" comfortable.

 

[FizzySix]

+1 on the programmable thermostats and insulation. I live in Rochester NY, and we get pretty extreme lake-effect snow and bitterly cold Canadian winds accross the lake (thanks Boneman and CanadianFZ6 ;-).

We use wood in a standard wood-stove for supplemental (i.e. cozy by the fire) heating. Prices have gone up substantially, making the splitting maul and chainsaw more appealing to use.

Hunt around. The market pricing value of fuels is the "wild west" in terms of pricing right now, due to the economy.

Also, FWIW, consider a home energy audit by your local energy provider. The service ranges from free to pricey, and from full-service weather-tightness checks including a blower to find leaks in your home to a simple review of appliances and insulation levels. Can't hurt: I learned a few things from one years ago.

The only way you can fail is to fail to take action.

 

[RJ2112]

Good luck doing that when the little one shows up, if it is not 70 in C's room all night she wakes up.... I have a little ceramic heater in there so i can heat just her room at night, I need to get a programable thermostat. Mine is good but not good enough

We have a small ceramic heater in the master bathroom, that gets turned on when I want to soak in the garden tub.....

I mention this, because how long it stays on for, is determined by the elevation of the heater. It's got a thermostat in it, which can de set in 5°F increments. If I set it at 70, and put it on the floor, it never turns off. If it's on top of the counter (plugged into a GFI outlet) it shuts off after about half an hour.

My suggestion for you, is set the heater up off the floor, near the same elevation as your little one's matress. (don't point the thing at the crib, of course) You don't need to heat any lower in the room than they are sleeping, right? All that hot air rises, and heats from the ceiling down. It's a heck of a gradient over 8 feet. The ceiling may be near 90F to get 70 at the floor..... which is probably around 75F at crib level.

 

[oldfast007]

Here is a little comparo chart....run the numbers and see where your at...
http://www.woodpelletinfo.com/calculator/

 

[wolfc70]

I've heard propane and heating oil can be expensive.

Now A/C bills, I'm sure I've got you guys beat.

On a side note, Texas homes are so poorly insulated/constructed compared to homes in colder climates. Many were being built in the '90s with single pane windows and only 6 inches of insulation in the attic. The reason being? Energy costs are low, crank up the heat and A/C. Very short sighted.

6" of insulation!!!??? I have that in my walls!! The attic has 12" of rolled and about 18'' of blown in fiberglass, for an approximate rating of R150. My usual winter utility bill (natural gas and electric) is $220 per month in winter. I have a wood fireplace that I use all the time, but I cut and split my own wood, so that cost is minimal.