WHAT ARE THE ASPECTS TO CONSIDER WHEN PURCHASING A SILENT PELLET STOVE
Being able to enjoy the warmth of a fire in complete silence was until recently a prerogative only of those who had a fireplace or a wood stove. Those with a pellet stove had to accept the compromise: better efficiency in heat propagation was inevitably linked to greater noise. However, today it is no longer the case, and there are truly quiet pellet stoves on the market.
Why is a pellet stove noisier than a wood stove? To make you understand well, we must first distinguish between abnormal noises from a stove, due to malfunction, and normal, physiological noises typical of all stoves. Here we will consider the latter.
WHY ARE PELLET STOVES NOT QUIET LIKE WOOD STOVES?
The reason is precisely related to the internal functioning of the pellet stove, which distributes heat on one hand through radiation (its warm body heats the environment like a normal radiator) and on the other hand through forced ventilation (mechanical expulsion of hot air).
Therefore, while in a wood stove the only source of noise is the actual combustion (the classic crackling of burning wood in the hearth), in a pellet stove there are other sources of noise:
- the noise of the flue extractor, i.e., the fan that draws the combustion gases and expels them towards the chimney;
- the noise of the tangential fan, which pushes hot air into the room;
- the noise of the duct fans (or fan), if we are talking about ducted stoves, which therefore heat multiple rooms simultaneously;
- the noise of the auger, i.e., the spiral that draws pellets from the hopper;
- the noise of the pellets that, after being pushed by the auger, come into contact with the metal walls and fall into the firebox, with a typical tinkling sound;
- the ticking due to thermal expansion of metals and other materials from which the stove is made, more noticeable during ignition and shutdown phases.
WHAT ARE THE QUIETEST PELLET STOVES?
These are some general aspects that help to understand which are the quietest stoves.
- Ventilated stoves are quieter than ducted ones. Ducted stoves are generally louder because they have to push hot air along the ducts. Some technical measures can make this passage quieter, for example, using smooth pipes instead of grooved ones, or containing the curves in the ducting (the straighter the airflow, the quieter it is).
- Less powerful stoves are quieter. The advice is always the same: have your home's heat requirement assessed thoroughly, so you can correctly size the stove you need to achieve the right comfort. There's no need to buy a powerful stove if your home is well insulated; often, just 6–8 kW is enough to ensure effective heating (see here for more information on 6 kW stoves).
- The quietest stoves have a continuously operating auger, preferably driven by a brushless motor. In most stoves on the market, the motor that operates the pellet loading auger activates approximately every 4 seconds, and these “clicks” generate noise. A step forward has been made with continuous motors, which rotate continuously and slowly, allowing for quieter operation, as well as significant electricity savings. The top-of-the-range is the “brushless” motor (literally “without brushes”), which operates continuously but also offers less mechanical resistance and therefore excellent operating silence.
- Stoves with fully adjustable ventilation are the quietest. Frontal ventilation is the major cause of noise, but over 90 % of pellet stoves on the market need ventilation not only to heat but also to dissipate internal heat. In addition to heating the environment, ventilation also helps the stove maintain the internal temperature within an acceptable range, preventing overheating and damage. Therefore, in many stoves, it is possible to reduce the fan speed, but not too much. However, the best models on the market allow for the complete cessation of tangential ventilation. This is because they are designed to dissipate heat differently from traditional pellet stoves.
The No‑Air function is present in most MCZ ventilated stoves and allows you to completely exclude or minimize forced ventilation of the stove, ensuring maximum silence and all the pleasure of heat distributed by natural convection.
THE BEST MODELS OF SILENT PELLET STOVES
Here are some models of pellet stoves that are really quiet.
The selected models offer:
- No‑Air function allows the user to exclude ventilation when needed. Once the desired temperature is reached or for more silence, the fan can be turned off (or set to minimum depending on the model), and the stove will continue to heat through natural convection.
- Brushless motor for pellet loading, which ensures excellent acoustic comfort and a 90 % reduction in electrical consumption compared to traditional motors.
- Three pre‑set operating modes (Overnight, Comfort, Dynamic), which allow for extremely quiet operation and can be activated with a simple click from your smartphone.
Ego Air 8 (also available in the UP! version with upper flue gas discharge)
Club Air 10 (also available in the UP! version with upper flue gas discharge)
Halo Air 8 (also available in the UP! version with upper flue gas discharge)
Did you like any of these models and are you ready for a quote? Contact our sales points! In some showrooms, you can hear these stoves in action, which is the perfect way to understand how quiet they are.
