Heat Pumps and Pellet Stoves

In this world, there are many things that we simply take for granted. Those things would range from clean and readily available water, low cost food, air conditioning and lastly central heat. Before moving to the South, we lived in a part of the country that was definitely more urban than rural in nature. The roads were 100% paved, we had a central sewer system, cable television, internet and telephone service was everywhere, but most of all, our homes had central heat and air conditioning. So when we built our home, we careful planned and designed each step of the process so that we would be able to live in the best comfort we could afford or so we thought.

When it came to heating and conditioning the air of our home, we installed low-e double pane windows, sprayed the latest cellular foam insulation and used a certified Lennox dealer to install our heat and air conditioning. First of all, let me say the Lennox dealer we used for our home came with excellent references, (my parents), sized our system to fit our home, insisted on changes that would give us the best service possible, and all in all did an excellent job! This article is in no way a slam at Lennox or its dealers. I have only the best to say about Lennox and its certified dealers.

The issue we have is with heat pumps in general. There is plenty of reference material that describes the many attributes of what a heat pump is and what it is capable of producing in heat. In simple terms, a heat pump is an air conditioning system that when run in reverse and coupled with a series of heating strips, provides heat for homes that do not require or have access to central gas heating systems. That sounds great in theory, but when temperatures drop to or below freezing, heat pumps simply do not work. They will run, produce heat, but as the temperatures drop lower, they will not keep up and anyone who has a heat pump in freezing temperatures will attest to, you will still freeze while your electric bill climbs.

Side note: My parent told us to install a pellet stove, but did we listen?

For example, the cost to run a pellet stove during a cold southern winter will run about $35 per month for pellets using the lowest setting and with a scattering of days on the higher settings. With four months of cold weather, this would cost about $140 to heat the home to 70 degrees on average for the entire winter. When compared to a heat pump, we would spend about $90 per month in extra electricity per month, ($360), while not averaging more than 65 degrees. This extra cost, combined with a wife who will not give you any peace for the entire winter, makes a pellet stove a no brainier when it comes to providing a source of reliable heat from your home.

Pellet stoves come in a range of sizes, costs and materials that they can use. A lower end unit will cost you about $1500 and at the other end; you could spend over $4000. Installation is fairly straight forward, and in the case of Hartman pellet stoves, the installation manual is available on line.

Last and not least, when buying pellets, quality does matter. Hardwoods with a moisture content of less than 10 %, ash content of less than 1 % will make a difference for a pellet stove. If the moisture content is over 10%, your unit could begin to rust, and replacing augers that have rusted out is a pain. The lower ash content will reduce the amount of waste that needs to be cleaned and lastly a battery backup will allow you to have heat when the power goes out.

Needless to say, a pellet stove is in our future.

Enjoy!