Pellet Stoves
Pellet stoves were developed in response to the oil crisis of 1973. When the Arab oil producing countries formed themselves in the Organization of Petroleum-Producing Countries (OPEC), there followed precipitous oil price hikes. And it was not just a single price increase. These came in a series and prompted Americans to seek alternative sources of fuel to heat their homes.
Initially, there was a shortage of pellets as pellet mills took a while to set up. Today, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and other chain stores have huge inventories of 40-pound bags of sawdust, grain, or corn pellets. This size is usually enough for a day’s worth of heating.
Pellet stoves do not require a chimney and thus are easier to install than a regular fireplace. Its exhaust vent can simply pass through a hole in the wall behind the stove and end outside of the house. This is possible because of the better combustion efficiency of the pellets. Do-it-yourselfers with the proper tools can install the stove in a jiffy.
In newer pellet stoves, heating is fully automatic. A thermostat activates an auger that pushes the pellets from the hopper into the firebox when a certain temperature level in the room is reached. When the room temperature has risen to a pre-set level, the auger stops rotating, and awaits the next signal from the thermostat before it comes alive again.