If you set out to create the ideal Canadian home heating system, what would it look like? You'd need to make it inexpensive to operate, and most folks would want some kind of thermostat on the wall. Might as well do away with the chimney, too. The system would also have to be reliable, effective, easy-to-use and cosy. It costs nothing to dream, so let's make the fuel for this system completely renewable, 100 per cent Canadian-controlled and Kyoto-friendly to boot. How close can we get to this ideal in the real world right now?

Few systems can boast all these attributes, but one comes pretty close on most counts. Wood pellet stoves are a practical way to heat your home inexpensively, renewably and conveniently. Few Canadians have more than a passing familiarity with this mature and appropriate technology and remedying the situation is what this article is all about.

How They Work
Pellet stoves are designed to automate as much of the process of wood burning as possible. In general, there are three styles of pellet-burning appliances: freestanding stoves, fireplace inserts, and built-in heaters. To keep things simple, I'll refer to these different models as stoves.

A handful of companies offer equipment, and all machines operate on the same, basic principles. A supply of what looks like rabbit food is fed into a small combustion area in the stove called a burn pot. The 1/4-inch-diameter cylindrical pellets are made of factory-compressed hard or soft wood sawdust and offer different combustion characteristics depending on how they're made. Leading-edge pellet stove designs may also include thermostatically controlled pellet feed, large glass doors, extra-quiet blower motors, a back-up power source and automatic electric igniters. Although all pellet stoves can be vented with a vertical chimney-style pipe, some models are rated for horizontal venting through four-inch-diameter insulated pipe that exits through a wall. All this technology has been refined in Canada over the last 25 years, and it works.

Location and Installation
Before you decide if pellet heat makes sense, you'll need to think about stove location. Potential spots will need horizontal or vertical access to the outdoors for exhaust gas venting, a place to pipe combustion air back into the stove from outside, enough room to allow minimum clearances around the stove, and a ready supply of electricity from a properly wired outlet. It's even better if there's enough room for pellet storage, too.

When it comes to safe pellet stove installation, there are two sources of information you need to consider as you plan and carry out the work.

The most obvious is the manufacturer of your stove, though they don't necessarily have the last word. Stoves do typically come with drawings and specs for minimum safe setback distances and the floor protection required underneath and in front of the stove, but there's someone else who has the final word. Insurance companies are taking a greater role in determining what constitutes a safe solid-fuel heating installation. This makes sense because they're on the hook financially if a botched setup burns your place down. All this said, pellet stoves are safe by design and easy to install properly if you pay attention to a few key details.

Vent pipe installation is unique to pellet-style appliances. Unlike ordinary wood stoves, power-vented pellet-burners operate with positive pressure in the vent pipe. Since a regular chimney draws smoke and combustion gases up and out because of negative internal pressure (called the 'draft'), it doesn't need gas-tight connection joints. That's not the case with a power-vented pellet system because the pressure inside vent pipes is positive. Although this is a good thing, because it moves smoke outside with more assurance, it also means you may need to create sealed joints in the vent system, depending on design.

Whatever you do, forget about using regular, single-wall stove pipe for venting your pellet system. Not even vent pipe rated for use with gas appliances is appropriate. You're looking for pipe rated as type 'L' by Underwriters' Laboratory of Canada (ULC). It needs to have double walls, and the best pipe includes an internal layer made of stainless steel. High-temperature silicone caulking is the sealant of choice for use with pellet stove vent pipe.

As you shop for a stove system, you'll find models that can be direct-vented horizontally through a wall, vertical vent applications through a new vent pipe, venting into an existing chimney and even natural-draft installations that operate without mechanical exhaust blowers. This is an advantage in areas with regular power outages.

Is Pellet Heat for You?
Living with pellet heating fits somewhere between the chore of tending a wood stove and the ease of adjusting the thermostat on an electric baseboard heater. Pellet systems do involve some work, but not much. The pellet storage hopper needs to be filled every one to three days, and ash must be removed from the burn pot and flue system regularly, depending on the quality of fuel you're burning.

So, why would anyone opt for work, even the little bit of work involved in pellet heating? There are two reasons - the main one being cost. Heating pellets are a very economical source of energy. All else being equal, they'll save you 30 to 50 per cent compared with traditional fuels. See Counting the Cost above for a price comparison with other energy sources. You get more Btus of energy for each dollar spent on pellets than almost any other type of fuel. Pellet supply is also a completely domestic industry that uses low-grade forest products as feed stock. Combustion is ultra-clean and fuel is easy to store safely.

Another reason people like pellet stoves is that they offer the kind of cosy heat you can snuggle up to, with just enough involvement in the process to feel you've earned your warmth.

Pellet stoves aren't as well-known as they should be, but when did popularity have anything to do with quality? Considering the source of energy used by pellet-burning systems, and the low emissions put out by modern stoves, it's a system worth considering. As the world moves into a more politically volatile, environmentally conscious century, there's something to be said for an efficient domestic method of keeping Canada's cold weather at bay.

Pellet Primer
As a new pellet stove owner you'll need to do local research to find the best supply of pellets in your area. Typically, you'll find them packed in 40 pound bags, with 50 bags on a one ton skid. Most homes will burn two to four tons per heating season, with costs running from $120 to $220/ton.
Start your quest for pellets by asking your stove retailer for leads and work from there, using the following criteria. Chances are good that pellet suppliers in your area offer more than one option, so you'll have some choices to make.