What's The Best Pellet Stove For You?
The best pellet stove choice for you depends on a number of factors, probably the most important being the climate zone you live in, how well your home is insulated, how large the area you want to heat is, and what you want the internal temperature set at. Stoves are arranged by heat output lower on this page to allow easy pellet stove comparison.
If you already know the heat output you need, go to Pellet Stove Comparison to choose a pellet stove based on style and design.
If you would prefer not to be dependent on one sort of fuel, you could consider a multi fuel corn pellet stove. For comprehensive listings of pellet stove manufacturers, please follow these links. U.S.A. : Canada : Europe : Or perhaps you're in the market for a used pellet stove. If space is a problem, and you're not sure if you have enough room for a pellet stove, have a look at these examples of the smallest pellet stove.
In warmer areas such as the southern United States, 16 btu. (British Thermal Units) per square foot of heating area is adequate in a house with good insulation. In colder areas, if your house is not well insulated, you will need as much as fifty btu. per square foot. Check the maps for an idea of the winter temperature zone for your area.
Btu.'s required for a well insulated house in a warm area: 16 btu./ sq.ft.
Btu.'s required for an averagely insulated house in a warm area: 20btu./sq.ft.
Btu.'s required for a poorly insulated house in a warm area: 23btu./sq.ft.
Virginia, for instance, would be classed as a warm area.
For a cold area such as Michigan, multiply your result by 1.3.
For an even colder area, (Canada), multiply your result by 1.7.
Now do a small calculation. Work out the area in square feet that you need to heat and multiply that by the btu. per square foot you need for your area and standard of insulation. For example, if you want to to heat a 1,000 square foot house in Virginia with average insulation.
Virginia is in the higher temperature range and you will need a heat output of 20 btu. per square foot. 20 btu times 1000 square feet comes to 20,000 btu. per hour stove output. If you live in a colder area such as Michigan, you will need 20,000 multiplied by 1.3 btu. which is 26,000 btu.
Remember, you'll save more money in the long run if you insulate well and buy a smaller pellet stove, than if you buy a larger pellet stove to make up for poor insulation. Green-Energy-Efficient-Homes.com offers advice on attic ceiling insulation as well as other ways to cut heat losses in your home.
The btu. outputs that manufacturers provide relate to the efficiency of the stove in burning fuel. There are no figures for the efficiency of the heat exchangers in transferring this heat to the home. Pellet stove manufacturers will give a heating area for their stoves, but this tends to be optimized. Some are more optimistic than others.
If the low heat output on a stove is too high for milder conditions, check if it can be controlled by a thermostat to switch it on and off.
To change BTU. to Watts, divide btu. by 3.4.
Pellet stoves, being to some extent mechanical, don't like to be run flat out all the time just as you wouldn't rev your car everywhere in low gear. It's best to choose a stove that's more than adequate for your needs and run it at a medium setting.
Fuel Efficiency And Supply
All E.P.A. certified pellet stoves are rated at over 78%. Some are much more efficient than that. See the stove pages for efficiency ratings. You should make sure that there is a reliable supply in your area of the correct standard of pellets for the stove you're considering.
Choosing The Best Pellet Stove For Reliability
See the comments section on the individual stove pages. If there's a problem with a particular stove, it will be mentioned there.
If things do go wrong, which can always happen with mechanical devices, make sure that a local service agent is available unless you are very confident of being able to sort things out yourself. Best pellet stove manufacturers have manuals available for download online. A manual should come with the stove anyway.
All the stoves in these pages have been produced in thousands of units. Be a little wary of a new line which may not have all the bugs worked out unless you are very confident in your service agent.
The main thing that causes problems with pellet stoves is lack of thorough cleaning. Even the best pellet stove and best pellet stove insert needs regular maintenance.
Best Pellet Stoves Listed By Heat Output
20 - 25 thousand btu.
Englander 25pdvc----- 22416 btu.
25 - 30 thousand btu.
Englander 25PAH -------- 25,000 btu.
Avalon Newport---------- 28700 btu.
Seraph Genesis 106 ---- 28000 btu.
Lopi Pioneer----------- 28700 btu.
30 - 35 thousand btu.
Ecoteck Francesca ---------- 31000 btu.
Thelin Gnome ---------- 33000 btu.
Enviro EF2 ------------- 34000 btu.
Enviro Mini ------------- 30000 btu.
Quadrafire Castile ------ 30000 btu.
Quadrafire Santa Fe ----- 30000 btu.
Whitfield Cascade ------- 30000 btu.
Whitfield Profile 20 ---- 32000 btu.
Elite Montage ----------- 32000 btu.
Traditions T300p -------- 32000 btu.
Enviro Empress ---------- 34000 btu.
35 - 40 thousand btu.
Ecoteck Monica ---------- 35000 btu.
Rika Premio ------- 35600 btu.
Rika Visio ------- 35600 btu.
Jamestown J1000 ------- 38000 btu.
Whitfield Profile 30 ------- 38000 btu.
Country Collection Winslow - 39000 btu.
40 - 45 thousand btu.
Bosca Classic------------ 40,000 btu.
Breckwell P22------------ 40,000 btu.
Solstice P7000---------- 40,000 btu.
Harman Accentra------------ 40,000 btu.
Englander 25EP------------ 40,000 btu.
Enviro EF3Bi ----------- 40000 btu.
Kozi 100------------ 40,000 btu.
Kozi BayWin------------ 40,000 btu.
Kozi Previa------------ 40,000 btu.
Kozi Shop Heater------------ 40,000 btu.
St Croix Afton Bay------------ 40,000 btu.
St Croix Auburn------------ 40,000 btu.
St Croix Greenfield----------- 40,000 btu
St Croix Lancaster------------ 40,000 btu.
St Croix Prescott EXL and EXP- 40,000 btu.
Thelin Echo- 40,000 btu.
Thelin Parlour- 40,000 btu.
Rika (Austroflamm) Integra- 42,000 btu.
Pelpro Freestanding--- 42000 btu.
Pelpro Bay Window--- 42000 btu.
Breckwell Classic Cast----- 42000 btu.
Englander 25PDV -------- 42000 btu.
Country Collection Bella 43000 btu.
Harman Pellet Pro 38 Plus 43000 btu.
Ecoteck Gloria ---------- 44000 btu.
Ecoteck Ilaria ---------- 44000 btu.
Ecoteck Laura ---------- 44000 btu.
Ecoteck Serena ---------- 44000 btu.
Ecoteck Veronica ---------- 44000 btu.
45 - 50 thousand btu.
Breckwell P2700 ---------- 45000 btu.
Avalon Astoria ---------- 45100 btu.
Avalon Arbor ------------ 45100 btu.
Enviro Evolution--------- 45000 btu.
Enviro Meridian --------- 45000 btu.
Jamestown J2000 --------- 45000 btu.
Lopi Yankee ------------ 45100 btu.
Lopi Leyden ------------ 45100 btu.
Bosca Soul------------ 47,000 btu.
Breckwell P23--------- 47000 btu.
Quadrafire Classic Bay -- 47300 btu.
Ecoteck Silvia ------ 48,000 btu.
Ecoteck Elena ------ 48,000 btu.
Harman Advance ---------- 48000 btu.
Over 50 thousand btu.
Ecoteck Sofia ------ 50,000 btu.
Pelpro Corn Stove--- 50000 btu.
Pelpro Home Heater--- 50000 btu.
Bixby Maxfire---------- 50000 btu.
Harman PC45---------- 50000 btu.
Harman XXV---------- 50000 btu.
Breckwell SP6000----- 50000 btu.
Breckwell P2000----- 50000 btu.
Breckwell P24--------- 50000 btu.
St Croix Lincoln-----50000 btu.
Breckwell Big E--------- 55000 btu.
Englander 10CPM ------ 55000 btu.
Enviro M55 ------ 55000 btu.
Englander Super 240 ------ 56000 btu.
Over 60 thousand btu.
Enviro Omega ------------ 60000 btu.
Seraph Genesis 108 ---- 60000 btu.
Quadrafire Mt Vernon ----- 60200 btu.
Harman P61---------- 61000 btu.
Harman P68---------- 68000 btu.
Bixby UBB---------- 70000 btu.
Enviro Maxx ------------- 75000 btu.
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