Two carts each filled with 20 bags of 15 kg of pellets. Last Monday, while some were commemorating November 11, others were thinking about their heating. This large DIY store on the outskirts of Strasbourg was exceptionally open and many took advantage of it.
For a promotion? Not even. Checked, these same items are on sale… this weekend! The ton of pellets will thus increase to 300 euros altogether. Far from the 800 or even 850 that it was able to reach at the same period in 2022.
“There was general panic and we no longer had anything under control,” remembers Eric Vial, general delegate of Propellet, the national association of professionals in the sector. The war in Ukraine had given rise to a psychosis about energy. People were scared and rushed into it, sometimes even if it meant overstocking, which created a shortage and therefore a spike in prices. It was the ''PQ effect'' but it is largely over now. »
The graph from the National Forestry Office (ONF) confirms this: the price of the famous fuel has continued to fall since the start of 2023. Unlike, for example, gas and especially electricity. For a clear conclusion: wood remains “the cheapest energy on the market”.
Pre-season offers “in spring”
But is now the right time to equip yourself? Yes and no. “You should know that pellet production remains the same all year round,” continues Eric Vial. In the spring, the factories need to sell them as much as during the heating season, so it is often at this time that there are pre-season offers. »
The most far-sighted know this. Like this family living near Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne), accustomed to ordering “in April”. “We take three pallets at that time to get the best price, which is also decreasing depending on the quantity,” explains Clément. We consume around 2.5 tonnes per year, for a house of 146 m². We did not have a heating water network in the house and compared to installing a heat pump, the choice of the pellet stove was more profitable. »
This thirty-year-old could also have chosen a log installation but… “it’s too many constraints, between dirt and storage. And during the day, someone needs to fill the stove. You put the pellets in a bag and it works almost by itself.” Even if it means paying a little more. That much? The famous ONF curves show it: a kilowatt hour (kWh) costs less than six cents with a log compared to around 7.50 for pellets (and 0.28 for electricity).
“The difference is really not huge,” puts Christophe Glad into perspective. The president of the union group of firewood traders in Alsace knows what he is talking about: his company sells both. That is “100 to 130 euros per cubic meter delivered” and “300 to 350 euros per ton of pellets”.
The professional observes a slowing trend among consumers. “People have less money and are increasingly waiting until the last moment to equip themselves. On the logs, I had delivery times of ten months two years ago while at the moment, I can deliver to you next week. For pellets, I see more and more people coming to get a few bags from time to time when they used to take a whole pallet. They pay attention to their budget. »
“We would perhaps not have this speech if last winter had not broken records for mild temperatures,” adds his colleague in the South-West Pascal Canadell. The boss of Aquitaine Bois Energie also speaks of an “atypical year” without feeling the same reluctance in households. “Yes, my deadlines have shortened but for example, I deliver between 25 and 30 cubic meters every day, all year round. We encourage people to anticipate a small reduction and, if they can, to finish drying the wood at home. This allows them to save money. »
The price of the stere has also increased but…
Because logs have also seen their prices increase in recent years. Not dramatically but gently and consistently. “The sector needed to be upgraded because the price of wood had been the same for twenty years. We must add to this that the costs of logging, logging, transport and energy which have been passed on”, continues Pascal Canadell, remembering a stere which cost “around 80 euros three, four years ago”. Against 100 minimum with a professional today.
But this price no longer changes. “The log remains generally at a stable price because it is a local product with very few imports,” summarizes Axel Richard, of the Renewable Energies Union (Ser). He gives in passing the number of people heated with wood in France: 7.5 million, including 1.8 million with pellets. Who have already been victims of significant market fluctuations. “It has happened once in the last fifteen years and it will not amount to 800 euros per tonne,” assures the general delegate of Propellet. We cannot say that the price will be stable because we do not control everything but it could have a regular increase linked to inflation, that's all. »
So, wood or pellets ultimately? “The two products are not competitors,” concludes Eric Vial. The difference is not made on the calorific value (one tonne of pellets is equivalent to approximately four cubic meters) but on the use you want to have of your stove or boiler. »
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