Reports of the possible collapse of pellet stove sales appear to be flat out wrong. Even given the record low prices of crude oil hovering around $45 a barrel, and the low costs of heating oil, LP and natural gas, pellet stove sales seem to be holding their own for 2015, with some manufacturers reporting enviable increases.

Osburn Volta from Stove Builder International.

Model GF 40 pellet stove from Regency.

Timber Ridge Model 55-TRSSP01 Smartstove pellet stove from England's Stove Works.

Last year’s U.S. pellet stove and insert sales were up 62 percent, to 70,353 units. In the prior year – 2013 – sales were up by 11 percent after 2012 totals plunged 25 percent. But even with two years of double-digit increases, pellet stove sales were still less than half the relatively recent high of 141,211 units in 2008.

Manufacturer shipment numbers for the second and third quarters of 2015 have not been made available.

Despite the fact that pellet stove technology was invented by Jerry Whitfield in the U.S. in 1984, the rest of the world has passed us by; North American pellet stove sales lag far behind sales in Europe. For example, 275,000 pellet stoves were sold in 2014 in Italy alone, and 100,000 were sold in France.

Italian pellet stove manufacturer Ravelli, a newcomer to the North American market, sold 75,000 pellet stoves in 24 countries worldwide in 2014 – for a total of $83 million in revenue – exceeding the 72,116 pellet stoves and inserts sold in the U.S. and Canada by all 22 North American pellet stove manufacturers. However, even with little to bolster pellet-stove sales so far this year, most manufacturers report sales are up, some by double digits.

“The year started out a bit softer than anticipated, but the past few months have been remarkably strong,” says Karen Smeltz, director of Marketing for Hearth & Home Technologies’ Harman brand. “Our dealers are reporting significant traffic and high pellet stove sales.”

“Our pellet stove shipments through the specialty retail channel are way up with double-digit growth over last year, and last year was fantastic,” says Jeff Bryant, president of England’s Stove Works. “Even with a warm summer and the cost of oil down 50 percent from last year, we’re optimistic about this year.”

The company also sells a line of pellet stoves to hardware, home center and farm supply channels, and is seeing soft consumer sales so far through those channels.

“Pellet stove sales are doing pretty good, up about 17 percent after a phenomenal 2014,” says Stuart O’Connor, vice president of Sherwood Industries. “The consumer seemed to buy earlier this year, but dealers report pellet stove sales have slowed a bit and may not end up as high as in 2014. The good news is our distributors are not overloaded with product.”

“There is nothing this year to drive the pellet stove market,” says Perry Ranes, director of Sales for Travis Industries. “Heating oil and LP prices are low, and natural gas prices are stable. We feel pellet stove sales will be soft this year because heating fuel prices go hand-in-hand with how the pellet market will go.”

“We’re seeing modest sales increases in pellet stoves, but the season has not yet started,” says Stephen Schroeter, senior vice president of Sales, Marketing and Administration for Napoleon Fireplaces. “With oil prices as low as they are, that will certainly affect the market.” Schroeter points out that pellet stoves are a smaller category for Napoleon than its wood and gas models, but the company sees the pellet market growing in the long term, and Napoleon will be investing more in it.

“It’s been a pretty good pellet stove year so far,” according to Glen Spinelli, president of Regency Fireplaces, “but the temperatures will decide. We’re looking at our pellet stove sales being up three to five percent this year.”

Absolute 43 from Harman.

P4 Enviro pellet stove from Sherwood Industries.

EGO from Wittus.

The Northeast Continues to Dominate

The Northeast remains the strongest U.S. market for pellet stoves, with 40 percent of that market. But with 27 percent sales growth last year, it’s also the slowest-growing region. The Great Lakes region was second in total sales at 28 percent of the U.S. market, but it increased sales by 92 percent in 2014. Surprisingly, the Southeast was the third largest market, but well back at only nine percent of the U.S. total, followed in order by the Mountain States, the Central region and the Pacific region.

The East also dominates in the Canadian pellet stove market at 70 percent of the total; it was up 73 percent last year. The West was 18 percent of the Canadian market, up 52 percent, and the Central region was 12 percent, up a whopping 196 percent. Total Canadian pellet stove sales were up 77 percent in 2014.

Fireplace Inserts and Contemporary Styling are Trends

“Pellet fireplace inserts are hot sellers this year,” says Harman’s Karen Smeltz, an observation similarly made by most manufacturers. “This points to remodeling of homes being on the rise.” Smeltz also has noticed more interest in contemporary styling for pellet stoves, and cast-iron models with cleaner lines rather than intricate details. “Today’s products must be user friendly to fit into a family’s daily schedule,” she says.

England’s Stove Works has also experienced strong sales of its fireplace inserts, even in its wood-burning units. “We’re also seeing more interest in price-point models that are simple to use,” adds Jeff Bryant.

Glenn Thomson, executive vice president of Sales and Marketing for Innovative Hearth Products, is also “seeing the price points go down a bit. People are looking at pellet stoves for heating rather than for aesthetics. We’re seeing them look for the least expensive rather than ones with more expensive design elements.”

Ravelli USA is experiencing interest in its small- and medium-sized pellet stoves, according to Andrew Lagana, CEO. “But our medium-sized models are comparable with most manufacturers’ large sizes at 44,000 Btus,” he says. Lagana also notes a change in consumers’ taste in colors for his European-styled models. “Last year we were selling black, red and burgundy,” he says. “This year we’re selling a lot of white – classical with a modern touch.”

“Today’s trends are weird,” according to Marc-Antoine Cantin, president of Stove Builder International/SBI. “In Quebec City, they want the clean European look. But in the Northeast of both countries, they want traditional, saying that European styling looks like a wine cellar. It’s like multiple countries in one country.” Cantin points out that “European stoves look nice, but they are a bit more finicky to use. North American pellet stoves are more ‘plug and play.’”

Sherwood Industries has noticed an interesting trend among pellet stove consumers. “In checking our warranty cards, we’re finding more and more repeat pellet stove customers,” says Stuart O’Connor. “We think that, as the pellet category gets more established, people are looking at pellet stoves as a more important part of their house,” suggests Sherwood’s president and CEO Cherbel Yousief. “We’re now seeing consumers on their second and even third repeat sale of our pellet stoves.”

Foxfire pellet stove from Lopi.

Model RV 80 C from Ravelli.

Wise Way pellet stove from United States Stove Company.

New Pellet Stove Models Offered

England’s Stove Works has introduced its new TimberRidge Smart Stove freestanding pellet stove. Featuring transitional styling with larger glass, this model heats up to 2,200 sq. ft. with emissions of 0.54 gph and an extra large pellet-fuel hopper that holds 120 pounds. It can be set manually or used with a built-in thermostat. The TimberRidge brand is sold exclusively through hearth retailers.

Hearth & Home Technologies has introduced its new Harman Absolute 43 pellet stove featuring exclusive Easy Touch controls. Needing only a single touch, the company’s ESP technology allows the stove to tell you when it needs reloading or cleaning. With heated air blown out both sides and downward from the front, the Absolute 43 is claimed to be the quietest pellet stove on the market.

Mendota Hearth Products has introduced the Eclipse pellet stove in its St. Croix line. With modern European styling, the Eclipse is a whole-house heater putting out 55,000 Btus with 2.0 gph of emissions and featuring an 85-lb. hopper.

Regency Fireplaces has introduced its GF 40 pellet stove, a smaller model with a more modern, transitional look. The GF 40 produces 50,000 Btus and features a 60-lb. hopper.

Sherwood Industries has introduced a new P4 pellet stove into its Enviro brand. With a vertical, European contemporary look, the P4 produces 45,000 Btus with 1.3 gph of emissions and features an 80-lb. hopper. Sherwood’s new cast-iron pellet stove is its Meridian Cast with traditional styling, producing 45,000 Btus and 1.1 gph of emissions, and featuring a 51-lb. hopper. A new companion Meridian Cast pellet insert is coming soon.

New from Stove Builder International is its Vesta Award-winning Osburn Volta, a pellet stove that runs on DC electric current, but including fuel ignition. The Volta can be powered for up to 35 hours on two 12-volt batteries and will recharge those batteries while burning.

Travis Industries has introduced the Lopi Foxfire pellet stove, a traditional step-top steel stove producing 53,000 Btus and 0.73 gph of emissions; it features an 80-lb. hopper and a rotary disc feed system.

United States Stove Company has purchased the Wise Way Pellet Stove Company and now is able to offer that company’s Vesta Award-winning pellet stove. The Wise Way uses a gravity-feed system and natural draft so the stove does not require any electric power. An Echo fan is available that operates from the heat of the stove.

NSPS Now in Effect

As of May 15, 2015, pellet stove manufacturers must have tested and EPA-certified their pellet models, according to the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS). In the first step, pellet and wood models must show emissions of 4.5 gph or less. Step 2 of the NSPS, which is scheduled to go into effect in 2020, will drop the allowable emissions to 1.3 gph. However, the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA) is legally challenging Step 2.

Eclipse pellet stove from St. Croix Pellet Stoves.

Retailers have until Dec. 31, 2015, to sell their inventory of pre-NSPS models.

All wood and pellet models must show, in the owner’s manual, the tested efficiency, CO levels and emissions grams per hour. Pellet stove manuals also must indicate the grade of pellet fuel used to EPA-test that stove, and must “instruct consumers to only use pellets that meet that grade,” according to the HPBA.

Sherwood’s Stuart O’Connor thinks the NSPS may offer an opportunity for future pellet stove sales. “With the proposed sharp drop in allowable emissions in Step 2, more wood stove manufacturers may go to catalytic combustors to meet those numbers. That will make those wood stoves more expensive, perhaps driving consumers toward pellet stoves.”

Perhaps. Perhaps it will allow sales of pellet stoves to settle down and the category to become stable and at least a bit predictable. Then again, perhaps not.