What can you burn on pellet stoves?

Avoid damaging your appliance by making sure you know what you can burn on pellet stoves.

Pellet stoves are one of the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective forms of heating available. Some of the best pellet stoves are more than 95% efficient, which means you can add a great deal of warmth to your home with very little waste.

In order to maximise both both efficiency and financial savings — and ensure your pellet stove lasts as long as possible so you can continue to enjoy them — you will need to make sure you’re burning the right fuel for a pellet stove. So, what can you burn on a pellet stove?

EnPlus A1 certified pellets to burn on pellet stoves

You should always and only burn EnPlus A1 certified pellets on your pellet stove. ENPlus is an independent international certification scheme for wood pellets. Pellets are classified into different standards, with A1 and A2 being the two main standards.

EnPlus A2 certified pellets are intended for larger industrial pellet stove uses and typically produce more ash.

EnPlus A1 certified pellets are intended for home use. They produce less ash and offer the cleanest, most economical burn. For those reasons, it’s important to make sure that it’s A1 pellets that you’re buying.

Read on why that is, how to recognise certified pellets and why you shouldn’t burn anything else.

How to recognise EnPlus A1 certified pellets for pellet stoves

To make sure the wood pellets you’re buying are EnPlus A1 certified you need to check the packaging. In the case of pellets that are EnPlus A1 certified, you’ll find a seal on the bag that confirms this.

The seal will show:

• The EnPlus logo
• The abbreviated code of the producer or distributor’s country (such as DE for Germany, ES for Spain and IT for Italy
• The company’s identifying certification number, which will be between 001 and 299 for producers and between 301 and 999 for producers.
• Confirmation of the EnPlus quality class (A1 or A2)
• Weight in kg
• Diameter of pellets in mm
• Instructions to ‘store in a dry place’ and to ‘use in appropriate and approved combustion systems in compliance with the manufacturer’s instructions’
• Producer or distributor’s name
  
  You can give yourself extra peace of mind about what you’re buying by cross-referencing the company’s number with the EnPlus Certified Producers list and by checking its Blacklist for fraudulent or discredited suppliers.

Why you shouldn’t burn other things

Once a pellet stove is lit there are real flames that will burn anything. But a pellet stove is far more sophisticated than an open fire. It’s an automated, highly efficient piece of technology that is designed to burn pellets and pellets alone.

They are engineered to have pellets fed from the hopper at a rate that is calibrated to the burn rate of pellets. Pellet stoves need the density and consistency of EnPlus A1 certified pellets to operate correctly. Burning logs on a pellet stove — or any fuel other than pellets for that matter — will reduce the performance and probably damage the appliance.

Why it’s carbon neutral to burn pellets on a pellet stove

Wood pellets are made from offcuts of wood, usually discarded in woodworking industries. This means they are being salvaged from landfill to begin with. In addition to that, the amount of carbon that is released when they are burnt is only equal to what was absorbed by the wood when it was a tree. As such, pellets are a sustainable and carbon neutral fuel.

Choosing what to burn on pellet stoves

Make sure you’re always burning what you should be on your pellet stove by:

• Choosing wood pellets that are clearly marked for use on pellet stoves
• Studying the package to ensure they bear the EnPlus A1 certification
• Checking the company’s name against the EnPlus certified producers list
• Confirming that the dimensions and quality of the pellets meet your pellet stove manufacturer’s specifications

Still looking for a pellet stove? You might find what you’re looking for in this collection of Artel Pellet Stoves.