Ruby Parizeau stands by the wood pellet stove she had installed in her home last September. — Star photo by Cory Hurley

Walking into Ruby and Denis Parizeau’s home on a blustery winter’s day, the first thing you notice is the nice heat that hits your face and the flicker of orange flame in the corner stove.

It’s a sight one could see in many Newfoundland homes for decades. However, upon closer examination, there is something quite different about the small black stove in the corner of the basement rec room. It’s a wood pellet stove.

The bright flame can easily fool you at first and there is a tremendous heat coming from it, especially when it is turned up even the slightest bit. The Parizeaus don’t notice much difference than if it was a wood stove. Well, except one big one.

“I wanted to get a wood stove and (Denis) didn’t want to have anything to do with chopping wood,” Ruby said. “So, we looked and looked, and finally decided to get this.”

The couple were checking out wood stoves and contemplating what other alternate heating sources were available to them to help offset the escalating utility bill at their Windsor Street home. After some research, the Parizeaus felt comfortable with the Enviro Meridian pellet stove for their two-storey home, and it was installed last September.
They had no idea it would turn out to be such a wise investment.

They load the stove with a bag of pellets and turn it on. The thermostats throughout the home are fixed on 15 C and Denis said he isn’t sure if they ever cut in. Their monthly equal billing payments dropped from $287 to $98.

“I was actually quite surprised,” Ruby said. “It is such a big difference. The power company was the one who called me and wanted to keep lowering it.”

A small black pipe runs from the back of the stove to the wall. While other options, such as vents, are available, the couple said nothing else is necessary to heat the entire home.

 They keep plenty of pellets on hand in another part of the basement, purchasing about 20 bags at a time. Outside of one isolated incident last winter, Ruby said they have had no problems with the supply of pellets sold locally. While she noted the price has increased over the past year, she said there has been local people getting involved in distributing pellets to customers.

The Parizeaus light the stove in the mornings. If they leave the home for any period of time, they turn it off until they return and they also shut it down for the night. There is also the added luxury of knowing, if they forget, the stove shuts off automatically when the pellets burn out.

They are also very satisfied with the low maintenance of the stove, saying a full bag of pellets usually nets about a handful of ash, while lasting about 30 hours. They did find hardwood pellets to be better than the softwood ones, saying they give off more heat and burn longer.

They are also pleased with the aesthetic value of the stove.

“Everybody that comes in notices it right away,” Ruby said. “They say, ‘oh, you have a wood stove,’ and I have to tell them that it is pellet.”

She said there are also different pieces she can order down the road to make the stove look a little more “fancier.”

“I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever with it,” she said.