Rising oil prices should no longer be a shock to anyone. The fear and trepidation of the uncertainty about how high they will climb is common. Planning for ways to reduce our reliability on fossil fuels is the logical next step. For those who live in the northern half of the northern hemisphere heating the home is a major concern.

Pellet stoves may be the answer for many folks. The pellet stove offers a low-cost fuel with very little mess. Unlike oil, propane, and natural gas it is not directly affected by the rising oil prices. It also does not have the mess factor associated with regular wood and coal burning stoves. Installation is fairly simple and the cost-benefit ratio is very good.

Pellet stoves cost between $800, for a low-end, basic model, and over $3000 for a more decorative, or larger model. The pellet fuel for these stoves varies in price by region, but generally runs around $225 per ton. There are many variables that must be factored in when looking at the efficiency of the pellet stove. The size of the structure being heated, the insulation factor, the regular maintenance and cleaning of the appliance and the outside temperature are all important pieces to the puzzle.

To understand the savings potential of a pellet stove, it is first important to look at the options. Electric heat can be expensive to install and the trade off in a higher electric bill may not really off-set the cost of oil. Coal is a very messy and inefficient, as well as environmentally unfriendly, method of heating. Solar heat is very "green" but expensive to install and at times very inefficient.

A wood stove or wood furnace can certainly supply the needed heat to keep a house warm through even the harshest winter. The problem is that even the cost of wood is climbing and you have to have storage for the wood, for the stored wood and the wood being burned. This translates into a lot of mess. Woods efficiency as a heat source varies depending on the type and the method of burning. If a stove is lit and allowed to burn out and cool and must be re-lit, a lot of heat is lost to reheating. The wood itself has differing BTUs depending on type. The biggest cost with a wood stove, after the cost of installing a chimney, and proper installation of the stove, is the labor. It is a labor-intensive means of heat.

That brings us to fossil fuels. Propane can be an effective heating source, but it is not a great choice for heating large areas. Natural gas is another great choice for the fireplaces or room heaters, but not as cost effective in large areas. Fuel oil is the most common full-house heating fuel. Oil furnaces were very popular a short time ago due to their convenience. You could set the thermostat and then, as long as there was oil in the tank, your house would stay at that temperature without any effort from you. That was until the prices climbed to uncomfortable, and then almost impossible, heights. Now, to heat an average home through the winter it takes around 800-900 gallons of oil. When the price was down around $1.50 per gallon, heating costs figured out to $1200-$1350 per winter. Now, with a projected price of $5.00 per gallon, that heating price tag climbs to $4000-$4500.

Now, in steps the pellet stove. For that same home to heat with pellet heat over the same winter it would consume about 3 to 4 tons of pellets. This, at the current price of $225 per ton, would come out to $675 to $900 in heating costs. Factor in the cost of a mid range pellet stove ($1500) and installation ($300) and you still have a total first year cost of only $2700. That is still a savings of $1300 off what the projected oil heating cost would be for the same time frame.

It is not hard to see the benefit of a pellet stove when the numbers are examined. The pellet stove is a very efficient heating appliance. It has very little ash production and a 40 pound bag of pellets will last 24-48 hours depending on the size of the space being heated and the temperature being maintained. Those who still need the convenience of set it and go heating will find the thermostat control on the pellet stove convenient. Many people are using a combination of oil and pellet heat to cut down on overall oil use and reduce heating costs. Burning 1 ton of pellets can reduce oil use by up to 500 gallons. This has the potential of saving the homeowner $2275 in heating costs for the winter. That savings is hard to argue or ignore.