How Many Kilos Does a Pellet Stove Burn per Day? How Long a 15 kg Sack Lasts

Short answer: depending on the power setting, a pellet stove burns roughly 0.6–3.5 kg of pellets per hour. On a low setting (2.5 kW) a 15 kg sack lasts 21–26 hours, on a medium setting (6 kW) 8.5–11 hours, at full output (10 kW) 5–6.5 hours.

In an ordinary thermostat-controlled home, daily consumption is mostly 7–20 kg, about one sack a day; below we show where that figure comes from and how to work it out for your own stove.

How many kilos an hour at each setting?

Assumptions: a net calorific value of 4.6–4.9 kWh/kg (the lower bound is the 16.5 MJ/kg that ENplus ST 1001 requires; the upper value is commonly declared on manufacturer data sheets) and an appliance efficiency of 75–90% (EPA-certified pellet stoves mostly fall in the 70–83% range; EU Ecodesign has required at least 79% since 2022; EN 14785 declarations show 88–90% at partial output). Formula: kg/h = heat output (kW) ÷ (calorific value × efficiency); short end 4.9 × 0.90, long end 4.6 × 0.75. If your manual states kg/h per setting, that value is more accurate.

How many kilos a day? Three usage patterns

• Evening use, 5 hours a day, 6 kW average: 7–9 kg. A 15 kg sack lasts about two evenings.
• Day and evening, 10 hours a day, 5 kW average: 11–14.5 kg, roughly one 15 kg sack a day.
• Continuous, 24 hours, 3 kW average: 16–21 kg; a little more than one 20 kg sack a day.

A thermostat-controlled stove drops to a lower setting or goes into standby once the target temperature is reached, so the "average output" usually stays between a third and a half of nominal. How many kW your stove should be is answered in how many m² a pellet stove heats.

How do you work out monthly and seasonal needs?

1. Take your daily kilos from the patterns above or from your own measurement (emptying one sack and noting how many hours it lasts is the most reliable way).
2. Monthly consumption = daily kg × number of heating days in the month. Example: 12 kg × 30 heating days = 360 kg, i.e. 24 sacks of 15 kg or 18 sacks of 20 kg.
3. For the season, add up month by month; on the Aegean coast the two coldest months burn far more than November and March. The step-by-step winter estimate is in how much pellet a winter takes, and a rough estimate in the calculator.

What does it depend on?

• Outdoor temperature and insulation: The same stove can burn twice as much in January as in November; in an uninsulated home the average setting rises.
• Target temperature: Setting the thermostat to 20 instead of 22 degrees cuts consumption noticeably.
• Pellet quality: Damp or dusty pellets give less heat per kilogram, form clinker and clog the burn pot; see how to recognise ENplus A1 pellets.
• Cleaning: A dirty heat exchanger sends heat up the flue; the same warmth takes more pellets. For the maintenance routine, see pellet stove maintenance.
• Number of stop-starts: Every ignition uses extra pellets and electricity; an oversized stove stops and starts often.

The 6 mm pine pellets we sell carry the ENplus A1 logo; they come in 15 and 20 kg sacks, delivered on pallets for larger quantities; stove options are on the stoves page. Which sack suits you depends on your daily use: for a home burning a sack a day, the 20 kg sack means less carrying.

Two examples from manufacturer data sheets: 1–2 kg per hour for Baba's Stove Eco Fan 8 and 1.4–2.8 kg per hour for Flame Fan 12; details in the 8 kW and 12 kW comparisons.

Safety note

Choking the air setting or narrowing the flue to cut consumption spoils combustion and raises the carbon monoxide risk. A pellet stove is not smokeless and does not run without electricity; keep a carbon monoxide detector at home and, if you notice symptoms, get into fresh air and call 112: stove gas symptoms and carbon monoxide detectors.

Frequently asked questions

How many kg of pellets does a pellet stove burn per day?

Around 7–9 kg in a home that uses it in the evening, 11–14.5 kg with day and evening use, 16–21 kg when it runs continuously; insulation, outdoor temperature and the target temperature shift this range.

How many hours do 15 kg of pellets burn?

21–26 hours on a low setting, 8.5–11 hours on a medium setting, 5–6.5 hours at full output (10 kW-class stove, 75–90% efficiency).

How many days does one sack of pellets last?

About one sack a day is typical: in a home that only burns in the evening a 15 kg sack lasts two evenings; in a home that burns continuously a 20 kg sack lasts a little over a day.

How many hours do 20 kg of pellets burn?

28–35 hours on a low setting, 11.5–15 hours on a medium setting, 7–9 hours at full output.

How much pellet does a pellet stove use per month?

Multiply your daily kilos by the number of heating days: a home burning 12 kg a day uses about 360 kg a month, i.e. 24 sacks of 15 kg. For the monthly fuel bill, multiply that weight by the current price per kg; the current price is on the product page and in the price list.

Sources: lower bound of net calorific value, ENplus ST 1001:2022, Annex A, Table 4; efficiency, U.S. EPA Burn Wise, "Pellet Stoves"; minimum efficiency, Ecodesign (EU) 2015/1185, Annex II; partial-output efficiency, Austroflamm EN 14785 declaration of performance.