So, you have pellet stove electricity usage questions? We have answers! We want to help explain how a pellet stove uses electricity, and help you to anticipate just how much electricity you can expect to use in your MagnuM pellet stove. Electricity is measured in kilowatts (kw) and a kilowatt is 1,000 watts and usually costs between eight and fourteen cents per hour. In some areas like California the rates will be higher and in areas with hydroelectric power the rates can be lower, but the average is eight cents per hour per kw in the corn belt. Here is an up-to-date chart of electricity costs by state. You can run the calculations in the content below, by filling in the cost of electricity in your area to arrive at a close estimate.
MagnuM Pellet Stove Electrical Usage: Igniter
Let’s take the MagnuM Countryside as our first example. Igniter usage is individual, based on how each person uses their stove and heats their home. (Is it only used when you are in the new addition, do you shut it off frequently or leave it run almost continuously?) However, if the igniter went through a relight cycle twenty times in a day it would take .233 cents x 20 = 4.66 cents or less than a nickel a day (with wet or poor fuel it may take 2-3 cycles for the unit to light properly).
Our second example features the MagnuM Baby Countryside pellet stove. It uses 175 watts and it normally takes three to five minutes to light wood pellets in a stove (it may take longer in some cases) and the igniter runs for ten minutes. The igniter takes .175kw x .08 = 1.4 cents. If the igniter is on for ten minutes it would take only ten out of sixty minutes in an hour so 1/6 x 1.4 cents = .233 cents per lighting cycle.
MagnuM Pellet Stove Electrical Usage: Motor
There are three common motors in your MagnuM pellet stove; the fan motor, auger motor and stirrer motor (if standard). They take approximately 2.5 amps to 3.0 amps to operate. Voltage x amps = watts, so 110v x 2.75 amps = 303 watts of usage per hour. With the average price of a kilowatt at $0.08, the average electrical cost to run a stove would be .303kw x .08 = 2.42 cents per hour. If a stove ran for 24 hours in a day it would use approximately 58 cents per day (2.42 cents x 24 hours =58.176 cents). Sometimes a stove is not needed or used 24 hours per day, so the actual cost would be based on the actual hours a stove is used; if it was used 12 hours per day the electrical cost would be about 29 cents per day.
The fan for the heater exchanger on a MagnuM stove does a good job of pushing the heat into the room and circulating heat in a house, especially in a lower level or a basement where hot air rises throughout the building. In addition to convection heat, MagnuM pellet stoves also give off radiant heat. If you have pets, this is often where they love to lay and soak up the warmth. Compared to wood stoves or heating appliances without a blower, you get better heat circulation with a pellet stove (in many cases higher thermal efficiencies with a pellet stove). A forced air furnace and some other forms of heating also need a blower to move the hot air around a structure and will take as much or more electricity than a pellet stove. Although electric baseboard heat does not need a blower, the average electrical usage will be much higher than a pellet stove to heat a comparable area.
Note: These calculations do not include meter fees and other charges from an electric company. Voltage will vary from 110 volts to 120 volts and at start up there is a slightly higher electrical draw. For more information on electrical usage for appliances you can visit websites or contact your electric company.
If you have questions about pellet stoves, switching to this cheaper form of heat, and how this would work in your home or office, please give our heating specialists a call. They can walk you through a series of questions to help you decide on the best appliance, as well as answer any questions you may have about pellet stove electricity usage or MagnuM pellet stoves in general.