How do I Choose a Pellet Stove Insert & Square Footage?

Next to an open fireplace, nothing says home like a warm wood burning stove to knock off the winter chill. Especially comforting are the pellet stoves with transparent, heavy glass front doors. Besides being a source of warmth, these stoves can give you a heating alternative during especially cold winter months when heating bills soar. Choosing the right pellet stove according to the square footage in your house is the best way to get the appropriate stove.

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  Look for a pellet stove that has an internal convection fan. Take advantage of this added heat redistribution feature to warm a greater area of the room or house. Review stove features, and try to find a pellet stove with heat smart technology that evenly distributes the heat to the desired area and even cuts itself off when the room temperature reaches the temperature on the thermostat.

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  Pellet burners have an advantage over traditional wood burners. firewood image by Nikolay Lapitsky from Fotolia.com

  Estimate how well a pellet stove will heat your house by looking at how well your house is insulated and the physical layout of the house. Consider the climate where you live. For instance, how cold does it get, and how long does it stay cold? Buy a larger stove with greater pellet and heat generating capacity for colder climates. Plan to store and have on hand more bags of pellets to fuel it. A pellet stove is a good idea if you want to cut down on heating bills and you have a steady source of pellets with room to store the bags. A pellet or any other stove is a bad idea if you lack wood or fuel, do not want the chore of reloading it regularly, or live in a climate where heating bills are not an issue.

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  Locate the stove properly in the house or room to get the most heated area out of it. Situate it off walls and as much in the center of the room as you can. Select the right stove size for the area you are requiring it to heat. Do not expect the smallest model to heat a 2,000 or 3,000 square foot house. Keep in mind that open floor plans heat much easier and more evenly than smaller rooms with lots of walls.

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  Computing the cost of using a pellet burning heater will reveal energy savings potential. financial charts image by Chad McDermott from Fotolia.com

  Calculate your stove size according to the number of square feet in your house. For instance, if your house is 1,500 square feet, multiply 1,500 times 30. (30 is the average BTUs for the average house.) 30 times 1,500 equals 45,000 BTUs of generated heat. Buy your pellet stove in a size that matches the required 45,000 BTU output.

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  Calculate your annual pellet budget. Use the values of two tons of pellets per 1,000 square feet per season, and do the math for your house. For example, two tons times 1,500 square feet will require three tons of pellets. In this case, you will burn around 150 to 200 bags of pellets annually. Get your final cost by multiplying either 150 or 200 by the cost per bag.

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  pellets image by Rupert Roth from Fotolia.com