Environmental impact
A wood pellets heater uses wood pellets as its fuel source. EcoPellets Pellet Fuel is made from 100% pure, wood sawdust which is a by-product of the forestry industry.
A pellet mill is used to compact the biomass into an incredibly dense fuel source. As a consequence of the wood pellets heaters are able to run at an efficiency of up to 95%, meaning when a pellet is burnt it produces very little air pollution or ash and the majority of the heat generated ends up in the room not up the chimney.
Convenience
Both pellet heaters and gas heaters can be switched on or off by pressing a button. There is very little user input required in the ongoing running of either system. With wood pellets heaters however they are fully programmable. You can program them to turn on at a particular time of day, maintain a constant room temperature via a thermostat and running time.
Gas heaters are generally fuelled by the natural gas mains running into a house, whilst a pellets heater needs to have pellets filled into the hopper. Depending on the size of the heater and how often you use the heater, this needs to be done only 1 or 2 times a week. Not everyone is connected to the natural gas mains however, but wood pellets can be delivered to most people’s homes.
Cost
If you purchase pellet fuel in bulk they can be delivered to your home at a price cheaper than what your yearly gas purchase for the same amount of heating would be. While gas prices are constantly on the rise predictions are wood pellets in Australia will not as more manufacturers come online with increased volumes.