How are Wood Pellets Made?

Seeking a green way to heat your home, business or commercial enterprise? Wood pellets are an easy solution to your heating needs. Learn about how wood pellets are made and why they are one of the fastest growing heating methods in the United States.

What are Wood Pellets?

Wood pellets are a heating and energy fuel made from compressed wood fibers. Wood pellets are used in pellet stoves, boilers and furnaces to heat homes, businesses and commercial locations.

Wood pellets are a biomass fuel. This means they come from a growing, renewable source. Other kinds of biomass fuel include paper, wood chips, and other agricultural byproducts used to create fuel and energy. Wood pellets are renewable, efficient, easy to use, and all natural.  Energy Pellets of America makes premium recycled wood pellets. This means our pellets are made from materials that would otherwise end up in landfills.

According to statistics from the Pellet Fuels Institute, close to 1 million homes are heated with wood pellets in the U.S. This number is on the rise. Wood pellets are also often used to heat homes in Europe and around the world.

Statistics from the Pellet Fuels Insitute say the average homeowner might save close to $700 a year by heating their home with pellets instead of propane or heating oil. It’s also important to know that heating with wood pellets instead of propane or oil can cut carbon emissions by nearly 5 tons per home.

How Wood Pellets are Made

Energy Pellets of America manufactures wood pellets from recycled wooden pallets. We don’t use chemically treated pallets in our process, making our wood pellets 100 percent natural.  To make our wood pellets, Energy Pellets of America:

• Finds retired, untreated shipping pallets that are broken and no longer useful in the shipping industry.
• Breaks the pallets down into fine particles at our pellet plant by using a grinder and  hammer mill. This turns the wood chips into a “sawdust” like material.
• Uses multiple magnets to remove nails, screws and other ferrous metal objects from the raw material.
• Compresses the remaining wood particles into dense pellets using a pelletizing mill. The pellet’s high density makes them burn consistently in your pellet stove. No additional chemicals are used in this process. 
• The finished pellets are bagged and shipped via pallet to retail stores and home customers. Pellets are available in 40 lb bags, by the 1 ton pallet or in bulk. From pallets to pellets, the product comes full circle when shipped on a pallet to its final destination.

The entire production and shipping process creates a wood pellet product that is accessible to consumers and is a clean source of energy.

Why Use Wood Pellets?

Wood pellets are a clean burning, renewable source of energy. You will likely find that burning wood pellets creates a cost effective and eco friendly heating source. Reasons you might choose to heat your home with wood pellets over other energy sources include:

• Value. One ton of wood pellets is equal to about 3 barrels of heating oil according to the Energy Information Administration. Additionally, 1 ton of heating pellets is equal to about 1.5 cords of wood. When compared to these heating sources, you’ll find that wood pellets are a much better value. Wood pellets give you a steady source of heat for less money.
• Simple maintenance. All Energy Pellets of America wood pellets contain less than 1 percent ash. Our pellets are clean burning in your pellet stove or boiler. Because of the low moisture content, our pellets mean less maintenance and cleaning for you.
• Simple to use. Pellets are efficient and burn clean. Minimal ash and soot are produced. A masonry chimney isn’t required. Pellet furnaces and boilers can work alongside your existing heating system. Pellet stoves can be installed in almost any room in the home.
• Easy to store. Wood pellets are compact and dense. This gives them a high heating value and makes them easy to store. A 1 ton pallet of wood pellets takes up about one third of the storage space required to hold a cord of wood.
• Easy to plan. Unlike fossil fuel, pellet fuel cost doesn’t fluctuate. The Cost of wood pellets won’t change based on world events. Biomass energy tends to have a stable price.

You’ll also find that wood pellets make an ecologically friendly heating and energy option. Wood pellets are:

• Clean burning. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that wood energy pellets are the cleanest burning solid fuel available to consumers today. Because wood pellets are a renewable, clean burning energy source, little carbon is produced especially when compared to fossil fuels.
• Recycled. Energy Pellets of America makes wood pellets from retired shipping pallets that are no longer useful in the shipping industry. This creates a renewable energy source that prevents waste from going to landfills.

It’s also important to know that Energy Pellets of America’s wood pellets meet and/or exceed all U.S. and European standards for premium quality pellets. Pellets are tested by a third party laboratory to ensure that the premium label has been earned. This means that third party tests prove that our wood pellets contain less than 8 percent moisture, less than 1 percent ash and have a high heating value.

Additionally, Energy Pellets of America is a family-owned company based in Wilmington, Ohio. By choosing our pellets to heat your home or business, you’re supporting the domestic economy rather than spending with a non-local or even foreign supplier.

Ready to Get Started with Wood Pellets?

Wood pellets are a clean-burning, versatile, and sustainable method of providing heat to your home, business or commercial location. Energy Pellets of America makes recycled premium wood fuel pellets that can be used to fuel a pellet stove, furnace, boiler and more. Call us at (937) 265-0676 to learn more or place your order today.