Installing a pellet stove: What you need to know

Compared to many home heating and cooling options, pellet stove installations are relatively straightforward. In fact, a pellet stove is almost fully self-contained - the only real external equipment you'll need to have installed is a vent to the outside for exhaust fumes. As such, pellet stove installations are a much easier DIY project than other heating and cooling systems, such as air sources or geothermal heat pumps.

Importantly, there are a few key differences between installing freestanding versus inserting pellet stoves. For example, with a freestanding pellet stove, you'll need to cut a new venting hole in your wall, whereas, with insert pellet stoves, you'll need a chimney liner to funnel exhaust fumes up and out of your home through your existing ventilation structure.

Before you install a pellet stove, your home contractor may visit your property to assess your heating needs. Alternatively, you can roughly estimate the size pellet stove you'll need on your own. As a rule of thumb, according to the Department of Energy, a pellet stove rated at 60,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs) can heat an open-plan, 2,000-square-foot property. Of course, if you're only looking to add a heating element to certain parts of your property, a smaller pellet stove will likely get the job done. On the other hand, larger, multi-story properties may need a pellet stove rated closer to 80,000 to 100,000 BTUs.

There are four main steps to a freestanding pellet stove installation:

1. Install a hearth pad and place your pellet stove

First, you'll need to place or install a fire-resistant hearth pad in the spot where you plan to place your pellet stove. Hearth pads protect floors from potential sparks, embers, and high heat coming from your pellet stoves to prevent any chance of a fire breaking out. They are often made from cement or stone.

After installing a hearth pad, you can move your pellet stove into place. Your pellet stove must be close to an electrical outlet and a suitable wall to cut a hole in for ventilation.

2. Cut a hole in the vent

Next, a hole needs to be made in the wall in order for proper ventilation of the exhaust fumes from the stove. The size of the hole depends on the size of the piping you're installing, but it is generally around three to four inches wide.

3. Insert vent thimble and piping

Once you've drilled your vent hole, the next step is to thread the vent thimble, which is a sleeve for the actual piping, and the piping itself through the newly-made hole. It's important to seal around the vent thimble on both sides of the piping, as well as to install a cap and screen on the outside opening to prevent precipitation and debris from entering your ventilation system.

4. Connect your pellet stove to the piping and an electrical outlet 

Lastly, plug in your pellet stove to a standard 120-volt outlet and connect the ventilation piping to the stove's exhaust pipe. Fill up your pellet stove's hopper to start generating heat!

You can also install a pellet stove in an existing fireplace opening. There are five main steps to an insert pellet stove installation:

1. Prepare your fireplace

First, it's important to ensure your fireplace is properly cleaned and cleared to allow a pellet stove to sit inside it safely. To create enough space for some pellet stove models, you may have to remove your fireplace's damper, a rotating flap that keeps cold air out when the fireplace isn't in use and allows exhaust to escape during normal operation. It won't be necessary with a pellet stove setup.

2. Insert the chimney liner

Next, you'll need to install the proper piping and exhaust systems. Instead of drilling a hole in an external wall like you would for a freestanding pellet stove, you can use your existing chimney to funnel exhaust fumes away from your stove. You'll need to put a chimney liner through your chimney, which is either a rigid or flexible metal pipe that carries fumes upwards and out of your home. Chimney liners are often most easily installed by threading them down the chimney from the roof instead of from the ground up.

3. Attach the liner adapter and plug in your stove

Once the chimney liner is in place, you'll need to clamp on an adapter piece to ensure it will fit on your stove's exhaust port. Additionally, make sure to plug the stove into a standard wall outlet - it's much more difficult to connect these components after the stove is in place inside the fireplace opening.

4. Place the pellet stove in the fireplace and connect the liner

Next, you can move your pellet stove into the actual fireplace opening and connect the liner to the stove's exhaust port, which is usually on top of the insert pellet stove models. 

5. Cap the liner at the top of the chimney

The last step in an insert pellet stove installation is to cap the liner emerging from the top of your chimney. Installing a liner cap keeps the liner in place and prevents outside weather from entering your stove and home.