In a word- yes. Not having to buy propane has off-set the cost of the stove, 3 saws, chain grinder, hearth, trailer,etc.
I agree, with taxes and delivery fees it works out to be 7.67c/Kwh.It seems your paying closer to 8c a Kwh if you divide 1890 Kw into 145.00
Kind of like asking if venison is saving you money over beef??? In my opinion, Yes. But that is because I do 90% or more of the labor myself in both making bows and arrows and procuring the wood I burn and I enjoy both on a level as compared to just having fun. Most costly part was the chimney install because I did not want to tackle that myself with insurance as my biggest factor in the equasion. Stove was 650.00 delivered to my door. Bricks, morter and tools maybe another 250.00. Fireplace tools and stand I made and labor is free if you enjoy it.
Now add the saw, quad, splitter, fuel for all of the above and how much is used for hauling deer or wood???? I just know there is so much satisfaction in a really warm home and not paying 5-700$ 3 or so times a year for propane and wearing a hoodie all the time.
Doing the math on the pieces and parts of my stove install and procuring tools I believe after 2 seasons I am making money and enjoying all of it. JMO[/quote
i like the venison quote. ha. im with ya. i do all of the work myself, which i feel is enjoyable and good exercise and i have a supply of hardwoods standing in the woods waiting for me. the first year i moved into this house (2400sq) i did not burn wood because i wasnt prepared. spent almost $2000 in propane (ouch). The last two winters have all been wood and solar heat, little or no propane. If i can save 2k a year by getting outside and cutting and splitting some wood I'm happy. Figure i will pay for this $2400 progress hybrid in a couple seasons and the rest is gravy. Not to mention the wood burning experience is very rewarding to me. what better feeling than to sit down in front of a high efficiency stove and bask in the heat that you put forth much effort and sweat to produce, all at a minimal cost. Theres no better way to relax during the winter in my opinion. Of course, i feel guilty burning oil and using electric to heat. heating with wood is good for body and soul!!
...I think everyone's answer is situational...
LOL. indeed. I guess I should have done a survey instead. I seem to have flustered a few feathers in the nest!By golly, I'd say you've found your way all around the issue back to the answer to your question.
I often sort of wonder over the years just how many dollars we've saved by burning wood and I can say without a doubt that it is many thousands of dollars. BogyDave touched on a few points so let's see if I can touch on some just off the top of my head.
Although we burned wood before having a family, we consider those years that our sons helped with the wood to be very profitable for growing boys! The work taught them much and we spent many hours together which is priceless.
After our sons left we continued but one must remember that we love all parts of wood burning starting with felling the trees and bucking up the logs, splitting, stacking, etc. Although an injury forced us into buying a hydraulic splitter, previous to this my sons and I did all the splitting by hand. Personally, I started doing this at an extremely young age; about the time I started school.
We do pay some taxes on our land but the taxes on the land are extremely low. We own an atv, but we also use the atv for many more things than hauling wood. Same goes for the trailer. Same goes for the saw. And what is this about folks stating $200 a year or more for the saw? My present saw was purchased for less than $300 and it is 10 years old. The only other cost has been for a couple of chains, files, gas and oil. No way has that saw cost us what folks are fond of quoting.
Exercise! No gym dues for us. In fact, we do our cutting during the cold months when many spend their time indoors. We get good exercise by putting up wood. In spring when we no longer want to cut trees because of the birds and animals, this is when we do the splitting and stacking. A wonderful way to spend late winter or early spring days. Come warmer weather we get our exercise in many other ways.
Around here folks who heat with propane have to pay an annual fee in addition to expensive propane. Another cost we do not have. Nor do we have gas or oil trucks coming in our driveway.
One could go on and on but one of the biggest benefits of having wood heat is that we don't have to be cold in the winter. We hear and know of folks that don't even keep their homes at 70 degrees. We used to visit a couple quite often but quit doing so because in the winter we had to put on outdoor clothing in order to go visit because their home was so cold. They also dressed that way. As for me, our home will not be cold. We want to be comfortable and we keep it at a temperature that is comfortable for us; usually around 80 degrees. I shudder thinking what it would cost in oil, gas or electric to keep our home at that temperature.
Plainly speaking, my wife and I are into retirement and we want to be warm. We want to be as healthy as possible. Heating with wood helps us in this quest.
''What it cost you to install the stove is irrelevant now. In business we call that a "sunk cost". You already spent it, you cant get it back, so it therefore has NO bearing whatsoever on whether or not continuing to burn wood will save money going forward.
The cost of the stove would have been a factor before installing, but that ship has sailed....
Using your corrected $0.08 per KWh and $250/$175 wood prices I get
$14.29 per Million BTU of Heat delivered to home
$1,357.55 per year for normal home for Hardwood
$15.50 per Million BTU of Heat delivered to home
$1,472.50 per year for normal home for Softwood
$23.44 per Million BTU of Heat delivered to home
$2,226.80 per year for normal home for Electric
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