It seems there are a few discussions going on here.
First, does wood make sense as a fuel locally and for your house specifically? Our house was set up for propane and electricity when we bought it 5 yrs ago. The previous owners were using 4000 gallons of propane a year and the contract price was $4.25/gallon. Not sure why, but propane prices are much higher here than I hear reported in the midwest. Also, we don't have access to natural gas. So comparing fuel costs and because of the fuel consumption in the house, investing in a wood burner was a no brainer for us even paying market rate for wood to be delivered. That stove/chimney was paid for in a few months. This really depends on your heat load and locally available fuels.
Second, does it make sense to produce your own wood. I like control of the quality, cost and have access to free wood from a network that has grown since we started burning. Now that I am set up with dump trailer, splitter and a couple saws, production is about as easy as it gets. I trade about a day of labor and $15 to get a cord of wood from someplace in the city to stacked in my shed. Given that it is not subject to income related taxes and I enjoy doing it, this is worth it to me.
Lastly, if you have a stove that heats the house, does more even heat, dhw and no mess in the house justify the significant capital investment and complexity of the boiler? I could significantly reduce the dhw expense by replacing the older propane water heater. Then, reinstall the electric baseboards to achieve more even heat. Or, make the investment in the boiler and distribution system to eliminate dependence on outside fuel for heat and dhw. This would also eliminate the mess from 8 cord of wood being burned in the living room and the steel box that requires the blowers running when it is cold/blowing out.
My system will likely never pay for itself compared to where I am but I will likely do it for the other benefits. If I needed to run two stoves to heat the house or even load a stove more than twice a day, it wouldn't even be a question.
