Pellets: Prices, storage, availability
Pellets (for stoves, inserts and boilers....) look like rabbit feed - they typically have a small 3/8 to 1 inch length - and are made from compressed sawdust, wood chips, agricultural wastes and other biomass materials.
They are a typical biomass product, made predominantly from wastes, which helps cut environmental pollution (and energy bills...).
Environmentally neutral
Since ultimately they are made from wood, pellets are a renewable energy source. They tend to be CO2-neutral, which means that on combustion they release as much carbon dioxide as the trees and plants behind them have absorbed while growing. That’s different from what happens when we use oil or gas: the combustion of these fuels releases the dioxide carbon locked up for millions of years in those same fuels, increasing the CO2 levels in the atmosphere.
Pellet prices
Pellets have a high calorific value, around five kilowatt-hours per kilogram: the energy content of two kilograms (4,4 pounds) of pellets corresponds broadly to that of one liter (0,264 gallons) of fuel oil. And since their prices are very stable and much lower than heating oil (around 0,2-0,25 USD/0.16–0,2€ per Kg), pellets can be an excellent deal as a fuel for stoves, inserts or boilers.
Pellets vs. Gas for Stoves and Inserts
Pellets are typically much cheaper than gas. And since the prices of pellet stoves and pellet fireplace inserts aren't very different from prices of other fueled stoves and inserts, this very fact turns pellet stoves and pellet fireplace inserts very competitive and advantageous relatively to gas stoves and gas fireplace inserts.
Your Pellet needs for Boilers
The annual requirement for a typical home – with, say, annual heating needs around 9-11 Kilowatts – may be about 280-320 cubic feet (8-9 m3).
In other words, homes with an annual heating bill of ten kilowatts will spend around 1500 USD (1000 €) on pellets, something around half of what homeowners would pay using heating oil or gas.
Pellet economics and boilers
Although the investment in a pellet boiler is much higher (often 6-8 times more than in an oil or gas fired boiler) the annual savings may allow you a payback of 5-8 years. Obviously, that's just a reference. The payback will depend strongly on your consumes, climate and on the prices of the fuels. See, for more details: Pellet Boiler Prices.
Pellet storage and logistics
Pellet fired boilers may involve a disadvantage for those with low or no storing facilities: they require space storing facilities (in case of needs of large dozens of cubic feet of pellets...).
Pellet storing facilities may be very diverse: tank containers with different configurations and sizes, silos, dedicated basement rooms... Since pellet prices depend on transport prices and are cheaper in large quantities, large storage is almost always a good choice.
Note about the space needed by pellet storage: 1 ton of pellets will occupy around 50 cubic feet.
Pellet availability
Wood pellets are very common if northern European countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Austria… and are becoming also common in UK and U.S..
Today’s Canada and U.S. pellet production exceeds largely the internal demand, and a significant part of the production of states as Maine and New Hampshire is exported for the European markets. In most US states there will be no problem in terms of pellet availability – either in small or large quantities. It’s just a question of information.
See also: