Do wood and pellet stoves really save people money on energy bills?

(WFSB) – The state just got through the first real cold snap of the season.

Some people might be afraid to look at their home heating bills for the month.

Channel 3 investigated whether wood and pellet stoves actually help people save money on those bills or burn holes in their wallets.

“It’s been huge. I don’t burn any oil,” said Mike Royce, who credited his wood boiler with saving him money.

Royce said he’s been heating his home with it for 15 years.

Kameron Mattig is the general manager at Superior Hearth, Spas, and Leisure in Avon, where wood and pellet stoves, and all the accessories that go along with each, are sold.

“The number one reason we see people come to us is to save money with the rising cost of oil, natural gas, electric costs,” Mattig said. “It’s a great way to save some money on your bills.”

Experts said those savings might take a bit to see, but most people do save money on home heating with wood and pellet stoves.

Bioenergy expert Dr. Daniel Ciolkosz with Penn State said, “people switching from fuel oil to cordwood or wood pellets can expect to see their monthly heating bills drop by over 50 percent.”

For many clients, choosing between a wood and pellet stove comes down to how much people are home to feed the fire.

Royce took wood stove to the extreme.

“It basically just fools your furnace,” he explained. “Your furnace is set at 140 degrees. This only goes down to 172, and when it gets there, this little flapper opens, and it adds air in it and jacks it back up to 180. So, the furnace never knows to turn on, so when the house calls it [and] gets the supply from here. So, as long as you keep loading it, that’s it. That simple.”

There are up-front costs. The stove itself, according to experts, can range in price from between $1,300 and $5,500 for certain models.

Then there’s getting the proper permits, plus installation fees, and other supplies, like venting materials.

Royce said he now pays significantly less than when he was using oil heat, in part, because he buys his wood in bulk. That’s something he also recommends.

“If you had to pay for it, a log truck load of wood would be somewhere between $800 and $1000,” he said. “So, [it’s] still a good deal. You’re still saving a lot.”

Pellets range from between $350 to $500 dollars a ton. The average homeowner with a pellet stove uses 2 to 3 tons a season.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration this year, the average homeowner will use 488 gallons of oil in the colder months. At the current average now of $4.50 per gallon, that would be an expense of $2,196.

So, even if customers pay the maximum for pellets, they would still see a savings of almost $700.

Finding out individual savings isn’t as complicated as one might think.

“The easiest way that I’ve been able to explain it to people is by using tools like a fuel cost comparison calculator,” Mattig said. “That will allow them to put in the current costs of the fuel for say oil, pellets, cord wood, and they can also put in the efficiency of the appliance, and that will break it down into the cost per million PTU. It sounds very complicated, but it will break it down into numbers that are very easy to figure out a rough percentage of savings.”

There’s a federal tax credit customers can apply for right now for qualifying wood and pellet units. A $2,000 credit would allow people to recoup costs quicker.

“This is the best way,” Royce said.

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