Before the 20^th century, there weren’t tons of options for heating homes: 90% of Americans used wood. Luckily today we have choices, including a renewable clean energy alternative that is a cost-effective and easier alternative to fossil fuels: wood stove pellets.

Wood pellets have seen relatively stable pricing compared to fossil fuel prices, which, especially over the past few years, tend to fluctuate. In fact, when adjusting for inflation, pellet prices are about the same today as they were 10 years ago. When it comes to wood pellets vs other fuels, no other source of energy allows you to get more heat for less money out of renewable resources.

One question you may be asking yourself is how are wood pellets made? Created from organic materials—such as sawdust, bark, and waste paper—wood pellets burn cleaner and, more important to your heating costs, more efficiently than oil, propane, or natural gas. They help reduce greenhouse gas emissions like CO2, and, because their emissions are so low, can be burned in areas that have wood-burning restrictions. When compared with oil, one ton of wood pellets eliminates 1,500 pounds of carbon emissions.

Plus, purchasing wood pellets from a local supplier cuts down on delivery costs, making an already eco-friendly product even greener.

With combustion efficiencies of 78%–85%, wood pellets are exempt from United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) smoke-emission testing requirements. These high combustion rates mean more efficient heating than ordinary wood stoves or fireplace with extremely little air pollution. This helps make wood stove pellets the cleanest of all solid fuel-burning residential heating appliances.

Because wood stove pellets burn so clean, they produce virtually no ash. Rather than a chimney and expensive chimney sweeps, a direct vent is installed; you can quickly and easily clean the vent yourself, preventing any soot build-up and maintaining ultimate efficiency for maximizing fuel savings. As little creosote—or flammable deposit—builds up, there’s less of a fire hazard.

One ton of wood pellets heats a house as much as one-and-a-half cords of wood, yet wood pellets need about one-third of the space to stack. This means you can more easily, and realistically, store fuel for the entire winter (and for those cool summer nights, too).

Wood pellet stoves are generally used like a space heater, so you’ll probably find you save even more money as you waste less energy by heating only the areas of the house you use most. And with stoves having hoppers that hold extra pellets, the stove slowly dispenses more pellets as needed for a consistent, efficient heat.

As a reliable supplier of wood pellets, Ricardo Corporation can help you choose the free-standing stove and pellets that will most effectively heat your home, apartment or condominium.

Visit the U.S. Department of Energy for more information on energy-saving wood pellets, or call Ricardo Corporation today at (508) 992-0169 to learn more about how you can save on your heating costs.