Every homeowner who heats with oil knows what it’s like to reel with energy shock—to be a helpless hostage to home heating oil’s notorious price volatility. All the while, wood pellet home heating users relax with stable and lower energy costs.
oil calculator | propane calculator
Over the past decade wood pellets cost has remained relatively stable in comparison to oil pricing in the same time period. Oil has seen both dramatic price fluctuations and overall increases that are over double those for wood pellets. As illustrated in the graph below, oil and propane have seen a 226% and 209% rise in cost (respectively) in the past eleven years of price tracking. In the same time period, wood pellets have seen an 89% increase in price, not only drastically lower than the increases for petroleum based heating fuel, but also more stable over time (as illustrated in the gentle rise of the pellet price line below).
Fuel cost comparison
In addition to remaining more stable over time, wood pellets cost for heating has been consistently lower than heating oil. Those who have made the switch from oil to wood pellets have experienced up to a 25% reduction in home heating cost savings every year. This translates into faster payback for the customer choosing wood pellet heating as an alternative fuel source.
How to Estimate Your Savings
There are many online resources for estimating your fuel cost savings.
The Pellet Fuels Institute wood pellets cost comparison page is a good place to start. Of course prices will vary depending on your region, but the default values are a good place to start.
The State of Vermont publishes a Fuel Price Report. In order to find the information on wood pellets cost, link over to the pdf below the chart marked “View or download Current Report.” The chart at the bottom of page two gives you a really up-to-date snapshot of wood pellets cost compared to other heating fuels. Check out the last column marked “$/MMBtu” for a one-to-one comparison.
Future Metrics has created an oil calculator and propane calculator you can use to crunch the numbers for your specific installation.
This graph illustrates the fuel-cost savings you will could enjoy if you switch from oil to wood-pellet heat. The cost savings are immediate. Last updated 2/1/12
And, did we mention the carbon savings?
Wood pellets as a fuel saves you money, but burning them is also the environmentally responsible choice. As a carbon neutral product wood pellets burn clean and saves green. To find out what your carbon savings will be with pellets see the last row of the green chart above.
