Residential pellet stoves sound great but in practice they are not reliable (moving mechanical parts that operate at high temps, electronics poorly shielded from said temps—the manufacturers are pretty shady in my experience), and the cost of fuel varies quite a bit and can be very high. Compare to a wood stove that needs no electricity and can burn just about any combustible solid. Modern wood stoves are pretty efficient, too.

> but in practice they are not reliable (moving mechanical parts that operate at high temps, electronics poorly shielded from said temps

25 years ago my grandmother bought a pellet stove that lasted for 15 years with semi-regular maintenance.

Her next stove, same company, broke all the time and lasted less than 10 years, with much higher ongoing costs.

Enshitification strikes again!

If you run it properly. A good wood stove will run cleanly as well. It’s all about the secondary combustion. An open fireplace will not get hot enough for secondary and be dirty.