Apparently Gune kitty really likes being warm.
So I have the stove breakdown for you guys. I used a 10% off coupon and we got a pellet stove, vent pipe kit, and hole saw for drilling for $1250. Hearth pads run an average of $350-400, but I saw an ad on craigslist and got our beautiful solid stone hearth for $30 from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It panicked me to spend that money, right down to my cold, numb toes.
I have to be realistic about costs, though. With the inefficient heat pump, our electricity was fastly approaching over $300 a month. We estimate at the rate we’re currently burning pellets, we’ll save nearly $75-100 a month on our electrical bill alone. The stove we bought also qualifies for a $300 federal tax credit, so we should recoup our cost in total by the end of next winter. That even factors in purchasing the pellets.
We had been without heat for two weeks as our heat pump was so horribly inefficient that it was only blowing cold air into our home. Being warm is such a small thing, but so vital. It has made me appreciate more the roof over our head and the food on our table. If you have the opportunity this winter, please donate a blanket or a coat to someone in need. Everyone deserves to curl up someplace warm.
Using good pellets will increase the lifetime of your stove a lot, improve efficiency and keep you stove cleaner. I'm not sure how much you are paying for pellets right now, but premium or super-premium pellets are definitely worth a few cents more a bag. I work for a fireplace shop and more often than not the pellet stove service calls are because they were burning pellets from Home Dept or Bi-Mart. We sell tons of super-premium pellets for $229.00/ton (that's 50 bags) or $5/bag. The store is a family-run operation and we've been working with pellet stoves since they hit the marlet. Lisac's Fireplaces and Stoves is located in Milawukie, OR. If you're not near our area try to find a dealer who will sell Bear Mountain, Clean Burn, or Pacific Pride pellets near you at a reasonable rate. They'll save your stove!
That's actually a really good point. In fact, our warranty would be voided if we didn't burn at least premium pellets. We had the misfortune of buying an emergency bag of "premium" pellets at Ace Hardware and it was not wonderful. Lots of ash, and didn't smell as good as what we'd been using before. We average about $5/bag for pellets and have been testing different premium pellets to see how they burn, and then as soon as we decide on one we like, we'll be buying a ton. I'll definitely come and check you guys out though!
Ugh, I remember we had a heat pump when I was growing up and I always thought it was inefficient – it just blew cold air. We really want a pellet stove but the cost has always been prohibitive. Yours looks great though!
Was the cat a bonus or a bit extra?
She's one of those expensive "free" kittens. She wandered into our house in the summer and decided to stay; since the dog decided to let her we were in agreement.
Why do you get a tax credit? Is that because you are saving energy?