Pellet stoves work much like traditional wood burning stovesin that they burn solid fuel for a home, but the major difference is thatpellet stoves need electricity in order to work.
Pellet stoves use a range of electronic components includingsensors to automatically optimize and regulate a fire to provide the hottestand cleanest burn, and so does this mean that pellet stoves have thermostats toallow this to occur?
Many modern pellet stoves have built-in thermostaticcontrol using temperature sensors to regulate heat output. A temperature sensorwithin a pellet stove will continuously measure room temperature to ensure thatthe stove brings it up to the set temperature and not exceed it.
Our own pellet stove has a built-in thermostat allowing usto choose the desired room temperature for each fire without having to worryabout the room getting too hot if the stove is left on too long.
We’ve explained in more detail below using our own pelletstove as an example:
- Whether all pellet stoves have thermostats.
- Whether a pellet stove needs a thermostat.
- How a thermostat works on a pellet stove.
Do Pellet Stoves HaveThermostats?
In the majority of cases a pellet stove will have its ownbuilt-in thermostat in order to be able to regulate the heat output to theuser’s preference.
Unlike other forms of stove including wood burning and multifuel, pellet stoves are primarily electric appliances and need a source ofelectricity in order to operate.
Using a range of electronic components, a pellet stoveprovides a more automated burning process meaning that less userinput is required. These automated processes include the controlling of boththe fuel and air delivery to the fire to deliver the best fuel to air ratio andtherefore the hottest, cleanest and most efficient burn.
Digital displays can be found on many models ofpellet stove, which serve as the central control unit for the whole stovecontrolling all of the different processes to help provide the cleanest burnpossible.
As part of this central control unit will be a digitalthermostatic control.
This allows a pellet stove to also automatically adjust thestove’s temperature output to bring the room up to the desired temperatureas set on the stove, and keep the temperature there.
Our own pellet stove is able to do this thanks to a temperaturesensor within the stove that feeds room temperature information back to thecontrol unit, which is displayed on the screen.
The manual for our pellet stove explains:
‘The room temperature is measured by a temperature sensor installed within the stove. The system analyzes the collected data from the burning and automatically controls and optimizes it.’
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There are a small number of non-electrical models ofpellet stoves available. These forms of pellet stove typically won’t haveany form of thermostat.
Furthermore, some models of pellet stove may not come with athermostat and an external one may need to be purchased as an additional extra.
You’ll need to confirm with the manufacturer of a specificmodel of pellet stove:
- Whether a pellet stove has an integratedthermostat.
- Whether external thermostats can be used withthat pellet stove.
- What models of thermostat would work.
Does A Pellet Stoves NeedA Thermostat?
Pellet stoves typically have a thermostat integrated intothem to allow the automated processes of keeping a room at a constant settemperature to occur. Pellet stoves may therefore not require any form ofexternal thermostat.
Without a thermostat, a pellet stove is unable toregulate the temperature of the room to the desired temperature.
For example, our own pellet stove has a built-in thermometerthat measures the current room temperature at any one point. This liveinformation is displayed on the screen of the control panel.
We can also set the desired room temperature withinthe settings on the touch screen control panel. This set room temperature isshown within the smaller circle to the right of the current room temperatureshown in the box.
If there was no thermostatic control then the stove wouldnot be able to:
- Bring the temperature of the room up to ourdesired room temperature that has been set on the stove.
- Keep the room at this temperature, withoutexceeding it or letting it fall back down.
There is no mention within the manual of our own particularmodel of pellet stove whether an external thermostat can be used with thestove, but it already has one integrated.
The control unit on our pellet stoves also allows us to programmespecific times on specific days in which to turn on.
This will work with the information on the current anddesired room temperatures to keep our living room at the right temperature withinthese times.
How Does A Thermostat WorkOn A Pellet Stove?
A pellet stove thermostat collects current roomtemperature and adjusts the heat output from the stove to bring the room up tothe desired temperature. The control unit will then adjust the fuel and air tothe fire to keep the room at the set temperature.
A thermostat integrated within a pellet stove works by:
- Collecting ongoing current room temperatureusing a temperature sensor and feeding it back to the control unit.
- Allowing the stove to continue burning to bringthe room temperature up the temperature set on the stove’s settings.
- Keeping the room at this set temperature untilthe pellet stove is turned off.
- Preventing the room temperature from exceedingthis amount or falling back down when on.
As a pellet stove is an automated form of solid fuel burningappliance, it will automatically adjust the amount of fuel and air gettingto the fire in order to change the heat output required to maintain thedesired room temperature.
Based on the current and desired room temperatures, a pelletstove will use this information to:
- Set the amount of air getting into the stove byadjusting the amount of air leaving the stove using the blower within the fumeextractor.
- Set the delivery times and amounts of the pelletfuel from the hopper to the combustion chamber by adjusting the rotation of theauger.
Further Reading
What’s Inside A Pellet Stove
Things To Know About Pellet Stoves
Can You Put A Pellet Stove In A Fireplace?
