Would the use of a pellet stove reduce my heating costs?

Here is the scoop... I have a new in 2008 house that is super insulated and very efficient I feel. The whole house is radiant heat run off a wall hung gas boiler. The bottom line is that I am looking at about $2200.00 in fuel costs after my first year of being in this home. I have a locked in rate on the gas of 2.49 which is reasonable. I see all the pallets of pellets for sale for $210 - $215 per ton. I figured that if I was to burn 4 ton of pellets during the coldest months and supplement with gas the rest I would be saving money. Basically I went from May to October without getting any gas. I live in Maine where the weather gets cold in October and starts to get warmer in April. Does anyone have this same situation and if so does it work for you?Would the use of a pellet stove reduce my heating costs?
Purchase a small pellet burning boiler and have it located in a separate but small out building at the back of your lot, run an insulated supple line to the house and connect into your existing heating system. The supplier / installer of the stove will have the info and requirements to tie them together. You should be able to use the pellet stove to supplement your system without problems. Many problems are eliminated by using the remote location. The pellet stove remote building approach is used frequently in upper MIch. as the primary heating system. No noises, no smells, no combustion air issues, no fire issues. You will have to feed it pellets on occasion, depending on how much it is used.Would the use of a pellet stove reduce my heating costs?
Yes it would. There are many benefits to a pellet stove compared to a wood burner. Not as much smoke, most can burn other things like corn, cherry pis and soon.Would the use of a pellet stove reduce my heating costs?
Yes.



But there is a trade-off: It takes more labor (acquiring the pellets, storing the pellets, loading the stove, starting the fire, cleaning the ash box, etc.) to heat with pellets.



I use a wood stove and the savings is tremendous. It paid for itself in about 3 years and I don't feel guilty when it's 80 degrees in the house in January.



I actually like the labor and wood stoves are MUCH more work than pellets.



There is the old proverb (from memory so it's not exact) that "a man who heats his house with wood (pellets?) gets warmed twice, once when splitting/stacking the wood and again when burning it".



The only thing that could be a pain for you is the 'super insulated' house. You'll actually need a draft for a fire otherwise the smoke will blow back into the house. So you'll need to open a window or door while you are starting the fire. Once the chimney heats up (warmer than the house) you'll be good to go.



Also, you'll want to make sure you're chimney is insulated with stainless steel or you could destroy your chimney and maybe your house. Many newer homes have fireplaces that are mostly decorative and don't support the heat a stove will generate. I would think a home built in Maine would be ready for a stove, though.