It's October already, and here in Chicago that means homeowners are cleaning out their air filters and shrink-wrapping their windows in preparation for the coming winter. It's all part of the yearly battle to keep heating bills low during the cold season, and it takes on a special urgency in light of the recent volatility of our energy resources.
With that in mind, homeowners are wise to investigate sustainable alternatives for home heating. Fireplaces make great sense -- but unless you were fortunate enough to purchase a house with one already installed, you're probably looking at a costly retrofit. A better solution, however, are pellet heaters. These free-standing stoves burn processed wood pellets or corn and give off a relatively small amount of exhaust.
Most models require a four-inch vent hole leading outside, which can be installed easily in any room. Other than that small modification, pellet stoves don't necessitate much in terms of home improvement. And the fuel itself often comes from scrap wood that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
"We use waste wood, stuff that has no high-value uses," says Lee Strait, manager of Practical Environmental Solutions. Strait's company specializes in producing fuel for pellet stoves, and he estimates that pellet stoves offer as much as 90 percent efficiency -- compared to just 60 percent from traditional wood burning stoves.
Pellet stoves have a voracious appetite, often consuming 40 pounds of fuel in a week. But pellets can usually be purchased in bulk for far less than a dollar per pound, according to the Pellet Fuels Institute, making for an economical fuel compared to propane or natural gas. A pellet stove's secret is its fuel hopper, which feeds a slow, consistent stream of fuel into the fire for a steady, reliable heat source all day long. The resulting exhaust is typically far lower than the maximum allowed by the EPA's wood heater compliance regulations.
The most intriguing aspect of pellet stoves is that they can burn corn just as easily as processed wood pellets. According to Strait, corn offers up the same thermal yield as wood, but the higher moisture content results in a bit more waste ash -- known as 'clinker' -- that needs to be removed regularly to ensure smooth operation. You'll also have the added bonus of using a rapidly renewable resource that can be grown -- in Illinois, anyway -- right down the road.
