When deciding to improve the energy efficiency of our home we discovered Ecoteck pellet stoves, supplied and installed by Colm McCarthy who is based in Skibbereen. We had a few different requirements :  we needed an efficient and safe stove to supplement the underfloor heating in a large kitchen/dining/living area with a very high ceiling, and we also wanted to close off an open fireplace in our family room to reduce draughts, while still enjoying a flame effect fire to provide a cozy focal point in the room. Pellet stoves met our needs and also provided some unexpected extra benefits. One of the best characteristics of our pellets stoves is the minimal maintenance they require. They are very clean to operate – normally only requiring to have the little integrated ash pan emptied every few week. They are also very efficient, a single bag of pellets will keep the stove going for about 5 days when the stove is on for the full evening in our family room.

We have found the stoves to be very fuel efficient & cost effective. Because there is an electric fan to distribute the heat throughout the room, it’s possible to turn off the fire, but the fan remains on for an extra period to continue to distribute the residual heat from the hot stove to the room, although no more pellets are being used. Over the four years we have had our stoves, the price of pellets has actually decreased slightly which is the only fuel that hasn’t increased dramatically in price. We also have easily sourced pellets from a choice of local suppliers.

Pellet stoves are safe and convenient – we have a young daughter who plays around the stoves and with the flames safely behind glass, there are no concerns that she would come in contact with open flame. It also means if you need to leave the room you can go without any co

ncern for sparks or other material falling out from an open fire.

We have found the stoves to be really useful when the central heating is off – such as i

n late spring and autumn, but mornings and evenings can be chilly – the instant heat available from the stoves at the press of a button is really convenient and very comforting. This flexibility
significantly delays when we start up the central heating for the cold season, and allows us shut it down when weather improves but when there is still the risk of cold snaps before summer temperatures settle.

Having just completed a large open plan extension to our home, we again turned to Colm to install a 3rd pellet stove to provide the same benefits which we enjoy with our original stoves – to flexibly supplement the underfloor heating, while providing a warm, comforting, safe, cost efficient, environmentally friendly & clean focal point in our newest living space.

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