My buddy in the Colorado mountains installed a pellet stove several years ago and swears by it. He installed it in his basement and the local price per ton of pellets for about $210 to $240 depending on season. Sometimes spring or summer specials can even drop that price to below $200 / ton. I personally live down the mountains in Denver and only use pellets in my smoker.
During a hard winter, my friend will go through about 3 tons of pellets but rarely does the central heat kick in. Most years, he only goes through 2 tons. Understand that where he is located routinely gets snow measured in feet and stays white from at least mid Oct through mid March if not longer.
I have been over to his house and the only complaint that I have is that it tends to “dry out” the house. His enthusiasm for pellet stoves as the main source of heat for his house has me considering it as a backup system for when build my next house (geo thermal will be my primary).
Global warming must account for the fact that my Uncle used to use 4 to 5 tons of coal in Eastern Utah, the snow got rather deep there also.
This is a myth. Any source of heat will produce an equivalent amount of dry air, unless of course it releases combustion gases inside the house.
The cause of the dryness is outside cold air infiltrating and then being heated up, which creates very, very dry air. The difference between houses is not the source of heat, it's the amount of cold outside air that leaks in.
Heated with wood for 12 years in CO and NM. My wife used to just keep a pot of water boiling on the stove and no problem with dryness.