Pellet Stove Cost Per Month
Enter your house, how much of it the stove heats, the stove's efficiency and your price per bag, and get the bags, tons and cost for the winter and for the peak month.
Pellet stove
B09Scenario A
Sets the electricity rate. Pick US average if you're not sure.
From EIA for US average. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 18.4¢/kWh · US average · EIA reference 2025–26 · 4,500 heating degree-days (data as of 2026-09-26) ·
Estimated pellet cost per winter
207 bags (4.1 tons) for the season.
- 40 lb bags per winter
- 207
- Tons
- 4.1
- Cost per winter
- $1,343.67
- Peak month (typical pattern, 21% of the season)
- $282.17
Cost by month, in season only
The yearly cost spread across the months using a typical heating degree-day pattern from NOAA 1991–2020 normals. Months outside the season show $0.
Estimate. Formula and sources are under “How it works”. Change any input; the result updates as you type.
2026 note: The federal 25C and 25D tax credits ended for installations after Dec 31, 2025. Our numbers use 2026 rules. State rebates, HEAR/HOMES programs and utility programs may still apply.
Formula
How it works
- Annual heating load (MMBtu) = square feet × insulation factor × heating degree-days × 24 ÷ 1,000,000
- Bags per winter = annual load × share heated ÷ (40 lb × 8,000 BTU per lb) ÷ efficiency
- Tons = bags × 40 ÷ 2,000 (50 bags to the ton)
- Cost per winter = bags × price per bag
- Peak month = cost per winter × 0.21
Premium wood pellets hold about 8,000 BTU per pound, so one 40 lb bag carries 320,000 BTU. At $6.50 a bag in an 80% stove, that's about $25.39 per MMBtu of heat: more than natural gas, less than propane in most states.
Sources: Pellet Fuels Institute (premium pellet heat content, 8,000 BTU/lb); NOAA CPC heating degree-day normals 1991–2020; ACCA Manual J (simplified envelope factors); typical northern-US heating pattern for the peak month.
Worked example
A worked example
A well-insulated 2,000 sq ft Pennsylvania house heating 90% with an 82% pellet stove burns about 230 bags over the winter, 4.6 tons. At $6.00 a bag that's an estimated $1,382.93 for the season, and about $290.41 in the coldest month.
Reference
By state, at the default inputs
Estimated pellet cost per winter, with this page's default inputs and each state's reference prices (EIA reference 2025–26, data as of 2026-09-26).
| US average | $1,343.67 | 18.4¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $776.34 | 15.5¢/kWh |
| Alaska | $2,985.94 | 25.0¢/kWh |
| Arizona | $418.03 | 15.0¢/kWh |
| Arkansas | $955.50 | 13.0¢/kWh |
| California | $746.48 | 32.0¢/kWh |
| Colorado | $1,791.56 | 16.0¢/kWh |
| Connecticut | $1,731.84 | 30.0¢/kWh |
| Delaware | $1,373.53 | 17.0¢/kWh |
| District of Columbia | $1,254.09 | 19.0¢/kWh |
| Florida | $209.02 | 15.0¢/kWh |
| Georgia | $836.06 | 14.5¢/kWh |
| Hawaii | $0.00 | 42.0¢/kWh |
| Idaho | $1,731.84 | 12.0¢/kWh |
| Illinois | $1,851.28 | 17.0¢/kWh |
| Indiana | $1,642.27 | 15.5¢/kWh |
| Iowa | $2,000.58 | 13.5¢/kWh |
| Kansas | $1,433.25 | 14.5¢/kWh |
| Kentucky | $1,313.81 | 13.0¢/kWh |
| Louisiana | $537.47 | 12.5¢/kWh |
| Maine | $2,209.59 | 26.0¢/kWh |
| Maryland | $1,373.53 | 19.0¢/kWh |
| Massachusetts | $1,731.84 | 29.0¢/kWh |
| Michigan | $1,970.72 | 19.5¢/kWh |
| Minnesota | $2,388.75 | 15.5¢/kWh |
| Mississippi | $686.77 | 13.5¢/kWh |
| Missouri | $1,463.11 | 13.0¢/kWh |
| Montana | $2,269.31 | 13.0¢/kWh |
| Nebraska | $1,851.28 | 12.0¢/kWh |
| Nevada | $895.78 | 15.0¢/kWh |
| New Hampshire | $2,179.73 | 27.0¢/kWh |
| New Jersey | $1,492.97 | 22.0¢/kWh |
| New Mexico | $1,194.38 | 15.0¢/kWh |
| New York | $1,642.27 | 25.0¢/kWh |
| North Carolina | $1,015.22 | 14.5¢/kWh |
| North Dakota | $2,687.34 | 11.5¢/kWh |
| Ohio | $1,701.98 | 16.5¢/kWh |
| Oklahoma | $1,045.08 | 13.0¢/kWh |
| Oregon | $1,373.53 | 14.5¢/kWh |
| Pennsylvania | $1,672.12 | 18.5¢/kWh |
| Rhode Island | $1,701.98 | 29.0¢/kWh |
| South Carolina | $776.34 | 15.0¢/kWh |
| South Dakota | $2,209.59 | 13.0¢/kWh |
| Tennessee | $1,074.94 | 13.5¢/kWh |
| Texas | $597.19 | 15.5¢/kWh |
| Utah | $1,701.98 | 12.0¢/kWh |
| Vermont | $2,269.31 | 22.0¢/kWh |
| Virginia | $1,194.38 | 15.5¢/kWh |
| Washington | $1,433.25 | 12.0¢/kWh |
| West Virginia | $1,433.25 | 15.5¢/kWh |
| Wisconsin | $2,209.59 | 17.5¢/kWh |
| Wyoming | $2,209.59 | 12.5¢/kWh |
Questions
FAQ
How many bags of pellets per day?
Divide the winter total by the days you run the stove. At the US-average winter, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation heating 70% burns about 207 bags a season. In the peak month (21% of the season) that's about 43 bags, roughly 1.4 a day over 31 days.
Pellet vs propane cost?
Per MMBtu, pellets at $6.50 a bag in an 80% stove cost about $25.39; propane at the US-average $2.60 a gallon in an 85% furnace costs $33.43. Natural gas at $1.55/therm in a 92% furnace is $16.85.
How much electricity does a pellet stove use?
The auger, fans and igniter draw roughly 100 W while running. Enter 100 W and your hours in the Appliance Electricity Cost Calculator to add it to your bill.
How many tons of pellets for a winter?
Bags × 40 ÷ 2,000. The US-average example is 207 bags, about 4.1 tons; heating the whole house instead of 70% of it takes about 5.9 tons.
Why does the peak month matter?
Because that's when you run out. Plan storage for the coldest month, about 21% of the winter's pellets in this model.
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