5 Best Wood Pellets for Heating

Wood-burning stoves and pellet stoves are a great, all-natural way to save money on your energy bill during the cold winter months. By burning wood pellets in your fireplace, you also prolong the lifespan of your furnace so that it doesn’t have to run as long or as often. Some homes don’t even bother with other forms of heat and rely solely on wood pellets for their heat. 

The best wood pellets for heating a home are the Okanagan Douglas Fir Pellets. These pellets are made of sawdust from softwood products and have garnered high praise from users and distributors alike. They also burn very cleanly and do not harm the environment. 

While the Okanagan Douglas Fir Pellet is an excellent pellet for indoor heating, it isn’t the only option available. Many other pellet options are available depending on where you live and what type of heat you want to produce. In this article, we will look at what those options are and the benefits of each. If you don’t have a Pellet Stove, check out our top picks here.

Okanagan Douglas Fir Pellet

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Like I said before, the benefits of the Okanagan Douglas Fir Pellet are hard to beat. Few other pellets will burn as evenly and efficiently as these, and none will burn as cleanly. If you want to preserve the environment while keeping your house warm, Okanagan is the way to go. 

Bear Mountain Pellets 

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Bear Mountain offers several different wood pellets that are great for heating purposes. One option is a pellet made of Douglas Fir, the same material the Okanagan Douglas Fir Pellet is made of. 

Another great Bear Mountain pellet option is their Bear Mountain 100% Natural Hardwood BBQ pellets (available on Amazon). Not only is this pellet great for cooking, but it’s also an excellent heating option if you want a multi-purpose pellet to handle all your needs at a good cost. Imagine all of the grilling and the smokey flavor this can add to your food. It’s great for a BBQ and is a unique and all-natural way to prepare a meal.

Both the Douglas Fir Pellet and the Hardwood BBQ pellet offer a clean and even burn. You will keep your house cozy while not harming the world around you.

Vermont Wood Pellet Company Pellets

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Some of the finest softwood pellets on the market come courtesy of the Vermont Wood Pellet Company. Their pellets are made to suit the needs of homes located in the northeastern United States, and as such, are some of the best for home heating. 

Pellets from the Vermont Wood Pellet Company will burn very cleanly and effectively. They also give off very little ash, making them ideal for someone who wants little maintenance and clean-up from their wood stove. 

As far as getting the most heat for your money, these pellets are at the top of the list. Few other pellets will produce as much heat with as much efficiency as Vermont Wood pellets. These bad boys are also made entirely of sustainable wood products and have no impact on the environment.

Wood Sawdust Pellets

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Wood sawdust pellets check nearly all of the boxes necessary to be a good source of heat. They are eco-friendly, smoke-free, and very energy efficient, which means they will produce a ton of heat, and burn for long periods. 

These pellets are made from hardwood and give off a minimal amount of ash when they burn. This fact makes them a superb low-maintenance and high heat option for wood-burning stoves. 

Not only will wood sawdust pellets enhance the lifespan of your furnace, but they will also have little to no impact on the health of your chimney. For a great source of environment-friendly heat, give wood sawdust pellets a try.

US Stove Company HCHP 40 Pellets

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These pellets made of oak hardwood are arguably the best option that money can buy. They are made of 100% natural recycled oak hardwood and are specifically designed to deliver as much heat as possible in such a small package. 

The HCHP 40 pellets give off extremely low amounts of ash when they burn, and they also have very little moisture, making for a nice, dry burn. Because they burn so cleanly, they also cause very little smoke as they burn. This makes for easy maintenance and minor cleanup. 

You will be hard-pressed to find another option for heating your home as clean and efficient as the HCHP 40 pellets. Pound for pound, they may be the best on the market.

Essential Factors To Consider When Choosing Your Heating Pellets

When you go to purchase your hardwood pellets, it’s essential to keep several factors in mind. These factors are affected by what you want when using your wood-burning stove. Is it your sole heat supply, or is it being used in conjunction with another source of heat? 

Factors to consider include the quality of the pellets, their BTU output, total burn time and burn rate, and whether you want to use hardwood pellets or softwood pellets. The lines below will give you more information about what the right choice is for you. 

The Quality of the Pellets

If you want to save money on your heating bill during the winter months, it might require paying a little extra for your pellets. While high-quality pellets might cost a little more, they will also pay for themselves in energy savings. 

As with most things, you typically get what you pay for in terms of wood pellets. The more you pay for your pellets, the more efficiently they will burn and the more manageable cleanup. High-quality pellets should have high heat output, along with low smoke and ash give-off. 

Getting these three qualities in one pellet is challenging and is only possible with high-quality products like those mentioned above. 

BTU Heating Output

BTU output refers to how much heat your pellets give off and how efficiently they burn. You want a pellet that has a BTU rating of anywhere from 8300-8900 to ensure that you have a high-quality product. 

Do I Need Hardwood or Softwood Pellets?

It’s often mistakenly assumed that hardwood pellets give off more heat and burn more efficiently than softwood pellets, but this isn’t always the case. Pellets from Douglas firs and other softwood trees are popular as heating pellets and pack a powerful punch. 

As far as BTUs are concerned, softwood pellets beat hardwood pellets because they contain more substances that burn at higher temperatures. 

At the end of the day, the question of softwood vs. hardwood pellets doesn’t make much of a difference. The density of both pellets is relatively the same, and they both have advantages and disadvantages. 

The ultimate quality of the burn is more dependent on the quality of the pellets themselves rather than if they are made of hard or softwood. 

Burn Time and Quality

When it comes to burn time and quality, you will want pellets that have a long burn time and a high burn quality. You’ll want them to be eco-friendly, giving off low amounts of ash and smoke and burning as long and hot as possible. 

BTUs will play a factor in burning time and quality. The higher the BTU rating, the longer and hotter a pellet will burn. Finding a pellet that combines each of these qualities will make for a better pellet-burning experience. 

Conclusion

Burning high-quality pellets will go a long way to increase your energy savings and lifespan of your furnace. By purchasing any of the five pellets, I mentioned in this article will also ensure that you’re buying a high-quality pellet. 

Carefully consider your needs before purchasing a bag of pellets. If you only plan to use your stove occasionally, you may not need to purchase the most expensive pellets on the market. If, however, your wood-burning stove is an essential part of heating your home, spending a little more could definitely pay off in the long run.