Pellet Stove Usage Calculator
How many pounds and bags of wood pellets a stove burns a day and over a heating season, and what they cost, from its burn rate.
Result
Enter burn rate per hour to see the result.
https://calcgallery.com/energy-utilities/pellet-stove-usage-calculator/
Results are estimates based on the ratings, usage and prices you enter. Actual consumption, losses, tariffs and equipment performance vary. Check your bill, meter and manufacturer information before relying on the result. Read the full disclaimer
How to use the Pellet Stove Usage Calculator
- Find the burn rate for the setting you use in your stove's manual, in pounds or kilograms an hour, and enter it.
- Enter how many hours a day the stove runs and how many days the heating season lasts.
- Check the bag size, and add the price of a bag if you want the cost.
- Read the bags for the season, the pellets a day and the cost.
How it is calculated
pellets a day = burn rate × hours a daypellets a season = pellets a day × days in the seasonbags = ⌈pellets a season ÷ bag weight⌉cost a day = pellets a day ÷ bag weight × price per bagcost a season = bags × price per bagEvery number is one you enter. The bag size starts at 40 lb, the bag the Pellet Fuels Institute’s fuel standard is written around, or 15 kg for metric; change it to what you buy.
Getting the burn rate right
A pellet stove burns less on a mild day and cycles off once the room is warm, so a season is rarely all at the manual’s high setting. For a closer estimate, run the page twice, once at the low rate and once at the high rate, or split the season: a cold month at a high rate and the shoulder months at a low one. Buying a few extra bags guards against a long cold spell.
With your numbers
- Per day = 2 lb an hour × 12 h = 24 lb
- Season = per day × 150 days = 3,600 lb
- Bags = ⌈season ÷ 40 lb⌉ = 90
Quick reference
At the burn rate entered for every hour. A stove that cycles or runs on low burns less; a cold snap burns more.
| Example | Bags for the season |
|---|---|
| 2 lb an hour, 12 hours, 150 days | 90 |
| 3.5 lb an hour round the clock, 120 days | 252 |
| 1.5 lb an hour, 8 hours, 180 days | 54 |
| 2 lb an hour, 16 hours, $6.50 a bag | 120 |
| A cold month at 4 lb an hour, 24 hours | 72 |
| 1 kg an hour, 10 hours, 120 days | 80 |
| 1.5 kg an hour, 14 hours, 150 days | 210 |
Common questions about the Pellet Stove Usage Calculator
- How many bags of pellets will I use in a winter?
- It depends almost entirely on the burn rate and the hours. A stove burning 2 lb an hour for 12 hours a day uses 24 lb a day, 0.6 of a 40 lb bag; over a 150-day season that is 3,600 lb, 1.8 tons or 90 bags. Run the same stove round the clock and it doubles.
- Where do I find my stove's burn rate?
- The owner's manual or the specification sheet usually gives a burn rate in pounds an hour, often a low and a high figure, or a hopper capacity and how long it lasts at each setting. Hopper capacity divided by hours on one fill is the same figure. Weighing the pellets you add over a few days gives your own average.
- How many bags are in a ton of pellets?
- A US ton is 2,000 lb, so 50 bags of 40 lb. To enter a ton price as a price per bag, divide it by 50, or by the number of bags on your pallet if the bags are a different size.
- Why does this not say how many pellets my house needs?
- That depends on the house's heat loss, the weather and the stove's efficiency, which is a heating load calculation, not something a burn rate can answer. This page tells you what the stove burns at the rate and hours you enter.