The first question of every pellet newcomer: how much do I actually need? The second: where is it all supposed to go? Both can be answered with two rules of thumb and a little mental arithmetic – here step by step, with examples and the conversion into bags and pallets.
Rule of thumb 1: from oil consumption
If you are coming from oil, you have the best basis: 1 litre of heating oil ≈ 2 kilograms of pellets. At 2,000 litres of oil per year that is around 4 tonnes of pellets. From gas: 1 cubic metre of natural gas ≈ 2 kg of pellets; 20,000 kWh of gas ≈ 4 tonnes of pellets.
Rule of thumb 2: from living space
Without consumption data, living space and insulation standard help. Per square metre of heated area and year:
- New build / KfW standard: 10–15 kg pellets
- renovated old building: 20–30 kg
- unrenovated old building: 35–50 kg
A renovated old building of 150 m² therefore needs 3 to 4.5 tonnes. Add 300 to 500 kg for hot water for four people.
Conversion into bags and pallets
One bag of HEIZFUXX® pellets weighs 15 kg, one pallet carries 66 bags = 990 kg. For 4 tonnes a year that is a good four pallets or 267 bags. A pellet stove as supplementary heating needs 500 to 1,500 kg – one to one and a half pallets. As for volume: one tonne of pellets takes up about 1.5 to 1.6 cubic metres loose, or as bagged goods on a pallet around 1.2 m² of floor space by 1.5 m in height.
Bulk or bagged?
Bulk pellets arrive by silo truck and are blown into a storage room, fabric tank or underground tank. They are cheaper per tonne but need a store of about 6 to 10 m³ with sloped floor, filling nozzle and truck access (up to 30 m hose length). Bagged pellets on a pallet are more flexible: they fit in the garage, cellar or shed, can be bought in portions and suit pellet stoves, small stores and the start of the season before the big store is filled. Delivery is by freight carrier to the kerbside – a pallet truck and a paved space help. Why bagged goods are the better choice for many households is explained on the wood pellets page.
The store: dry, dust-tight, ventilated
Pellets are hygroscopic: moisture makes them swell and disintegrate. The storage room must be dry, without water pipes and without condensation. For bulk stores: ventilation, warning sign and airing before entering – freshly blown-in pellets can release carbon monoxide. Bagged goods are best stored on the pallet, with film against splash water but not sealed airtight. Everything else in the article Storing wood pellets properly.
When to order?
Pellets are cheapest and delivered fastest between May and August; in October and November carriers are jammed and prices rise. The Fuxx's rule of thumb: fill the store in summer, check in January, top up in February if needed.
Example calculation
The Müller family, renovated old building, 160 m², four people, previously 2,200 l of oil: demand ≈ 4.4 t pellets. Their storage room holds 5 t of bulk pellets – one delivery in July covers the season. For the pellet stove in the conservatory, a pallet of bagged pellets is added, which also serves as a reserve if winter lasts longer.
Conclusion
The calculation is simpler than it looks: 2 kg of pellets per litre of oil, 66 bags per pallet, fill the store in summer. And anyone who buys certified pellets can rely on the calorific value they are counting on.
HEIZFUXX® · SIMPLE. CLEVER. HEATING.
Wood pellets, wood briquettes, firewood, kindling, peat briquettes and hard coal – by the bag at DIY stores, by the pallet online. Where to get HEIZFUXX®.