All About Pellet Stoves

Posted: November 6, 2014
Source: This Old House.com

These high-efficiency heaters let you turn down the household thermostat while warming your rooms, providing ambience, and reducing your energy bills:

In colder climates, heating accounts for about one-third of a homeowner’s annual utility bill, which is why many are seeking thriftier ways to stay toasty. Freestanding pellet stoves and inserts that fit inside an existing fireplace are an increasingly popular solution. They look like traditional woodstoves but operate more like a modern furnace. You need only fill the stove’s hopper with pellets made from compacted sawdust, set its thermostat, sit back, and get cozy. A mechanical auger deposits the pellets into a burn pot, where they are incinerated at such a high temperature that they create no vent-clogging creosote and very little ash or emissions, which keeps both indoor and outdoor air cleaner. The best part is that they are about twice as efficient at warming your home as older woodstoves that have not been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and are vastly more efficient than fireplaces.

Depending on your home’s size and layout, a pellet stove could supplement the current heating system or be used as the sole source. And, despite its workhorse reputation, pellet stoves come in a variety of designs to complement any interior style. Read on for This Old House’s expert advice on buying, installing, and firing up one of these energy-wise heaters.

Tip: Pellet stoves heat your home much like a furnace does while also providing a flame to gather around.

See all of the tips and stove at This Old House.com.

Study looks at wood pellets as potential source of jobs, energy savings

Posted: April 7, 2014
Source: LaCrosse Tribune.com

The Coulee Region could save millions of dollars a year in energy costs, create more than a hundred jobs and slash carbon dioxide emissions by creating a market for wood pellet fuel, according to a new study.

Commissioned by the Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission, the study grew out of meetings in the Kickapoo River Valley after the floods of 2007 and 2008, where discussions focused on how to create a more resilient economy, said Greg Flogstad, director of the planning commission.

The area is dependent primarily on agriculture and tourism, but lacks a third “leg” for the stool.

“There wasn’t much being done with forest wood products,” Flogstad said.

Funded by $52,000 in grants from the federal Department of Commerce and the Wisconsin Department of Administration, the report is designed to outline a model of economic development
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