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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The time of year has come to for people to turn up the heat and cozy in for the winter; but what type of heat should one turn up?

Steve Outlet, program co-ordinator for Arctic Energy Alliance, fills the office pellet stove. The stove is responsible for heating the front office, and only gets filled about once a week this time of year. - Nicole Garbutt/NNSL Photo

Woodstoves have traditionally been a favourite in Yellowknife, particularly in the older parts of the city. Wood pellet stoves, however, marketed as a more environmentally-aware option to home heating, are becoming more popular.

Emco Frontier Mining sells both log- and pellet-burning stoves. The company says it sells more pellet stoves by a long shot. Emco has a few different models of each, but generally customers in the market will have a stove picked out before coming in.

"Pellets stoves are thermostatically operated ... It produces low ash and is dust free, which is better," said Emco employee Mel Palmer.

Bags of pellets, if bought by the pallet, run for about $5.99. The average pallet holds about 70 bags. A bag will last a day, give or take, depending on the size of the home.

Depending on the size of your home, a bag will last about a day, whereas a cord of wood, measuring about four feet by eight feet, will last about three weeks.

Douglas Almond, a private seller in Yellowknife, says a lot of people cannot afford a full cord, which runs on average about $360, and he offers a special rate for a "pickup-truck full."

Distributors of wood will prepare it dried and split.

"Ideally, you let it dry for two years, then you won't have problems," Almond said.

"Green wood can plug your chimneys and cause fires."

Almond has a pretty specific clientele. The same people, "mostly private homeowners," return to him every year.

He has a commercial permit to cut and distribute wood, which is issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Residents can also apply for a private licence and cut their own wood.

"People like the independence," said Margaret Mahon, an energy management specialist for Arctic Energy Alliance and a woodstove owner.

She said pellets and log wood are very comparable in costs if one cuts their own wood, and there is not much of a difference in the two from an environmental standpoint either.

"Both are considered carbon neutral. Ideally, the carbon dioxide being emitted while burning is reabsorbed by the trees planted to replace the firewood," Mahon continued.

"You have to include a lot of factors while looking at life-cycle costs. The balance starts to sway when wood is locally harvested, however pellets do produce less ash."

Arctic Energy Alliance is the administrator of the GNWT's Energy Efficiency Incentive Program, a rebate program to help attract the public into a more energy-efficient home heating plan. With the purchase of a new wood or pellet stove, Arctic Energy Alliance will oversee the rebate for 25 per cent of the cost, up to $700.

Residents can also have their homes evaluated by Arctic Energy Alliance to determine ways they can be more energy efficient.

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